The meeting of the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), the Central Board of Creator (CBT), is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on 10 and 11 October. According to the news, the proposal to increase the minimum pension amount from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500 per month is likely to be discussed in this meeting. The minimum pension under Employees Pension Scheme (EPS-95) under EPFO is currently Rs 1,000 per month. This amount was fixed in 2014 and there has been no change since then.
Various staff organizations have been demanding for a long time that the amount of Rs 1,000 is very low in view of the current inflation. Various unions of trade unions and pensioners have been demanding to increase the pension amount to Rs 7,500 under the Employees Pension Scheme (EPS) for a long time. However, reports show that CBT will not increase pension by 7.5 times, but can consider it to increase it to Rs 2,500.
How is EPFO pension determined?
Pension under EPS is calculated using a fixed formula:
Pension = (Pensionable Salary × Pensionable Service) ÷ 70
Pensionable salary, the average basic salary of the last 60 months of service is + dearness allowance, the maximum limit is Rs 15,000. Pensionable service refers to the total years of service, if it is 6 months or more, it is made complete, and you need at least 10 years of service to be eligible for pension. The maximum limit of pensionable salary is Rs 15,000 per month.
This means that if a member has served for 35 years, then he can get pension of about Rs 7,500 per month. A minimum continuous service of minimum 10 years is necessary to obtain pension under EPS. Members are entitled to regular pension on attaining 58 years of age. If a member leaves the job before this date, he gets withdrawal benefits or less pension.
What can members expect?
Another major agenda of this meeting is the EPFO 3.0 project. Under the EPFO 3.0, there are plans to make the organization completely digital and paperless. This may include facilities such as PF withdrawal directly from ATM, immediate PF withdrawal through UPI, real-time claim settlement and correction facility, easy settlement of online death claim and automatic data integration. Large Indian IT companies like Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have been entrusted with the responsibility of management and implementation of this large -scale technical advancement. The project is now likely to start next year amid delays due to technical testing and system integration challenges.
What can be decided in the meeting?
In addition to increasing the minimum pension and making decisions, the board can also discuss the fund structure of digital reforms, investment policy and pension scheme. Although the final decision will require the approval of the government, the results of this meeting can affect the future of millions of pensioners and employees. Employees unions say that the minimum pension of Rs 1,000 is no longer valid. A labor union representative said that no one can survive this amount. The government should increase adequate increase in view of inflation; Now, all eyes are on the CBT meeting to be held on October 10-11, where a big relief for employees can be expected.