The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) last week introduced guidelines to enable subscribers and their employers to jointly apply for higher pension under the employees’ pension scheme (EPS). After the SC order, the retirement fund house has now allowed employees to go beyond the pensionable salary, capped at Rs 15,000 per month.
Currently, employees and employers contribute 12 per cent of the employee’s basic salary and dearness allowance to the employees’ provident fund (EPF). The employee’s share goes to EPF, while the employer’s 12 per cent share is divided into two parts, 8.33 per cent for EPS and 3.67 per cent for EPF. Apart from this government also contributes 1.16 per cent to the employee’s pension.
Here’s the step-by-step guide to apply for higher pension:
Step 1: Visit member e-Sewa portal
Step 2: Click on the link ‘Pension on Higher Salary: Exercise of Joint Option under para 11(3) and para 11(4) of EPS-1995 on or before 3rd May 2023’
Step 3: Select “application form for joint options”
Step 4: A new page will open. Fill in details like UAN, Name, date of birth, Aadhaar number, Aadhaar-linked mobile number and correctly enter the captcha.
Step 5: After filling the form, there will be an option to ‘Get OTP’, which will be received on mobile number linked with Aadhaar.
According to the EPFO instruction, “The…information being entered should be as per EPFO records UAN of member. Member’s Aadhaar number, Name and Date of birth should be as available in EPFO records. Member should have a valid Aadhaar linked mobile number which is as per UIDAI records.”
Exercise of joint option is available for the employees who were in service prior to September 1, 2014, and continued to be in service on or after September 1, 2014, but could not exercise joint option under erstwhile proviso to para 11(3) of EPS-1995.
More than 8,000 members have already applied online till now, though the submission deadline is May 3, 2023.
All eligible members can opt and apply jointly with their employers for higher pension till May 3, 2023 at unified members’ portal of retirement fund body EPFO. Earlier, there were apprehensions that March 3, 2023 is the last date for opting for higher pension.
Since, the contributions of both the employee and employer on higher wages are involved, the EPF and EPS-95 schemes require the joint request when they contribute on higher salary. This is not a new requirement and predates the EPS-95 and the position has been affirmed by SC in the RC Gupta case stating that it is a necessary pre-cursor for exercising joint option on higher salary under EPS.
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