SC opens the 4-month window for eligible employees under EPS to opt for increased pension
Contents News/Article Date: 7th November 2022
Relating to which Act The Employees Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
Applicable to which State: All the establishments in the States with PF coverage
Type: Supreme Court Hearing – final pronouncement of the Judgement – Eligible employees who had not opted for enhanced pension coverage prior to 2014 can jointly do so with their employers within the next four months after the Supreme Court upheld the Employees’ Pension (Amendment) Scheme, 2014.
Pertains to employers and employees
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EPF Pension is a part of PF compliance, in this case, the high courts had allowed a pension in proportion to the salary above the ceiling limit of Rs. 15,000/- but later on, the EPFO and Union government sought to review, and the matter was re-opened for hearing on merits and the verdict was pronounced on 4th November 2022 and one of the key points is as follows:
New Delhi: Eligible employees who had not opted for enhanced pension coverage prior to 2014 can jointly do so with their employers within the next four months after the Supreme Court upheld the Employees’ Pension (Amendment) Scheme, 2014.
Subject: SC opens the 4-month window for eligible employees under EPS to opt for increased pension
For greater details, appended below is the complete news item
SC opens the 4-month window for eligible employees under EPS to opt for increased pension
New Delhi: Eligible employees who had not opted for enhanced pension coverage prior to 2014 can jointly do so with their employers within the next four months after the Supreme Court upheld the Employees’ Pension (Amendment) Scheme, 2014.
Employees who were existing EPS members as on September 1, 2014, can contribute up to 8.33 percent of their ‘actual’ salaries — as against 8.33 percent of the pensionable salary capped at Rs 15,000 a month — towards pension. The court on Friday struck down the requirement in the 2014 amendments mandating employee contribution of 1.16 percent of the salary exceeding Rs 15,000 per month.
This will facilitate the subscribers to contribute higher to the scheme and get enhanced benefits accordingly.
Trade unions have demanded that the government call an extraordinary meeting of the central board of trustees of the retirement fund body EPFO for quick implementation of the apex court order.
The Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 originally did not provide for any pension scheme. In 1995, through an amendment, a scheme was formulated for employees’ pensions, wherein the pension fund was to comprise a deposit of 8.33 percent of the employers’ contribution towards provident fund corpus. At that point in time, the maximum pensionable salary was Rs 5,000 per month which was later raised to Rs 6,500.