© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Even as Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) came out with a circular on the issue of higher pension for a specific category of members Thursday, details for other members who retired after the deadline of September 1, 2014, or those who joined service before it, is still awaited.
The retirement fund body’s board members and experts said the circular remains silent on many other issues arising from the November Supreme Court judgment.
In its first set of guidelines nearly two months after the SC order, the EPFO on Thursday told its field offices to implement the ruling’s directions for employees who had contributed higher pensions on actual wages, but the provident fund offices denied their request.
The notification said the members who contributed for pension on salary exceeding wage cap of Rs 5,000 or Rs 6,500 and exercised the joint option, along with employers for such contribution and their option was declined by PF authorities, can apply online to validate their option for a higher pension payout.
“In the field, many were asking field officers for directions from the EPFO on the SC judgement. As this involves the careful, simple and easy implementation of the SC order and ensuring no misuse, wherever there is no ambiguity in the judgement and a clear direction issued, the EPFO has issued a circular.
“ The detailed directions and steps of implementation for other members is under active consideration and expected to come out shortly,” EPFO’s CBT Member KE Raghunathan, who represents employers, said.
Earlier this month, the All India EPF Staff Federation has written to the Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC), seeking clarity on details including the formula to calculate pension, and the options available to subscribers who retired after September 2014. On November 4, SC had upheld the Employees’ Pension (Amendment) Scheme, 2014, allowing another opportunity to EPF members who have availed of the EPS, to opt for higher annuity over the next four months. Employees who were existing EPS members as on September 1, 2014 can get the chance to contribute up to 8.33 per cent of their ‘actual’ salaries — as against 8.33 per cent of the pensionable salary capped at Rs 15,000 every month — towards pension, it said
Experts said the SC judgement has given a ruling which made members who were part of the EPS as on September 1, 2014 as eligible for the higher pension payout, yet EPFO has remained silent on it. “Employees who were members of the Employees’ Pension Scheme as on 1 Sep 2014 and did not opt for higher pension earlier should be eligible for higher pension as per Para 44(iv) of the Supreme Court ruling dated 4 Nov 2022. As per the ruling, such employees should opt for higher pension by 4 March 2023 (4 months from the ruling) . However, the circular dated 29 Dec 2022 issued by the EPFO is silent on the procedure to be followed by such employees to avail higher pension benefit,” Puneet Gupta, Tax Partner, People Advisory Services, EY India said.
“Employees who joined employment for the first time after 1 Sep 2014 and had monthly pay exceeding Rs 15,000 are not eligible for membership under the Employees’ Pension Scheme. Employer’s and employee’s share of contributions for such employees are fully allocated to the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme. Such employees will not be eligible for higher pension benefits,” he added.
A meeting of the Central Board of Trustees is likely to be held soon to formally discuss the legal implications for other categories of members, an EPFO official said.
