The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has announced May 3 as the deadline for submitting applications for higher pensions under the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS).
As the deadline approaches, the EPFO has provided new guidelines on how to check the wage details of both the employer and employee. In an order released on April 23, the EPFO stated that all applications for higher pensions would be verified and examined by the field office.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the higher pension, employees need to submit an agreement allowing for the transfer of funds from the provident fund to the pension fund, proof of their employer's share in the provident fund for wages exceeding the standard wage ceiling of ₹5,000/ ₹6,500, and a joint option form with a declaration from both the employer and employee for a higher contribution to the EPS of up to 8.33% of the actual wages in the future.
The following are eligible for higher pension:
1) Employees who were members before September 1, 2014, and remain members.
2) Employees and employers who had contributed wages exceeding the standard wage ceiling of ₹5,000 or ₹6,500.
The EPFO order stated that in cases where the field office and employer's details match, the dues will be calculated, and an order will be issued by APFC/RPFC-II/RPFC-I for depositing/transferring the dues. In cases where there is a mismatch, APFC/RPFC-II will inform both the employer and employee/pensioner. They will have a month to provide the missing information. If complete information is not received within one month, the order will be passed based on merit.
How to apply?
To apply, employees need to submit their application along with the necessary documents on the EPFO portal (unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/).
The EPFO officer will monitor the submission post-application, and if the information provided is accurate, the eligible dues will be calculated and transferred. If there are missing details, the EPFO will contact the employee and employer, and they will have one month to rectify any errors.
The interest rate on EPF increased to 8.15% in FY23, which is the highest in the small savings category.
