epf pension
It was expected that the government would increase the nominal pension amount received under the Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS-95) to a respectable level. There was buzz around the news that the minimum pension could be increased from the current ₹1,000 to ₹7,500. It was even claimed in media reports that it could be approved in the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) meeting to be held in October 2025. But now, the reply given by the government in the winter session of Parliament has put an end to all these speculations and expectations for the time being.
This issue was raised in Parliament on December 1, 2025, when the government was directly asked through a written question… Is the pension going to increase? Let us understand in detail what the government said and what its direct impact is going to be on your pocket.
Will pension increase from ₹1,000 to ₹7,500?
Lok Sabha MP Balaya Mama Suresh Gopinath Mhatre raised the voice of the pensioners and raised sharp questions before the government. He sought clarification from the government on six points. His most important question was whether the government is considering any plan to increase the minimum pension from ₹ 1,000 to ₹ 7,500? Apart from this, he also asked why the pension is not increasing, why dearness allowance (DA) is not given to pensioners, and has the government tried to find out how it is possible to live on ₹ 1,000 today?
The picture presented by Minister of State for Labor Shobha Karandlaje in response to these questions was pensioners Is going to be disappointing. The Minister clarified that at present no proposal to increase the minimum pension is under consideration with the government. That is, the government has made it clear that there is not going to be any major increase in the pension amount in the near future.
Know the government’s logic
Government employees get ‘Dearness Allowance’ (DA) as inflation increases, but pensioners covered under EPS-95 do not. The government has explained the technical reason for this in Parliament.
According to the government, EPS-95 is a ‘Defined Contribution’ scheme. If you understand in simple language, this is not a ‘salary-linked’ scheme like government jobs. In this, the pension amount is not decided on how much inflation has increased, but on how much money is deposited in the fund. The government says that since DA is not a part of the structure of this scheme, the benefit of increase in inflation cannot be given to pensioners.
This is the biggest irony. In the market, the prices of milk, vegetables and medicines increase equally for everyone, but the source of income increases only for government employees, while private pensioners remain stuck at the same place.
citing financial losses
The biggest reason given by the government for not increasing the pension is the financial condition of the EPS fund. The government cited the ‘Actuarial Valuation’ report of 2019. According to this report, the pension fund is running in ‘loss’. This means that there is less money in the fund than what should be there to pay pension in future.
The government argues that if the amount of minimum pension is increased without increasing the fund, then this fund will be adversely affected and the entire system may collapse. At present, the government is somehow ensuring payment of minimum pension of ₹ 1,000 by providing budgetary support. In this, the employer contributes 8.33% of the employee’s salary and the central government contributes 1.16% (up to the salary limit of ₹ 15,000). The government says that the current financial situation does not allow the pension burden to be increased further.
So should we give up hope now?
EPS-95 is the largest pension system in the country, to which more than 80 lakh elderly people are connected. Most of these are people who have spent their entire lives in private companies or in low-paid jobs. In 2014, the minimum pension was fixed at ₹1,000. Today even after 10 years the amount remains the same, while inflation has increased manifold. The pensioners demand that they should get a pension of between ₹ 7,500 to ₹ 9,000 and also medical facilities.
Experts believe that the path is not completely closed yet, but it is not easy either. To increase the pension, major changes will have to be made in the existing structure. For this, either the contribution of the companies (employers) will have to be increased or the government will have to drastically increase the subsidy given by it. Unless this change occurs in the funding model, the dream of a pension of ₹7,500 is going to remain a dream.