The EPFO (Employees' Provident Fund Organization) has granted an additional three-month extension for employers to upload pension wage details for higher wages. The original deadline, which was set to conclude on September 30, has been extended in response to appeals from Employers and Employers' Associations, according to a labour ministry's release on Thursday.
"Now, again many representations have been received from Employers & Employers’ Associations wherein requests have been made to extend further time period for uploading wage details of applicant pensioners/members. 5.52 lakh Applications for Validation of Option/ Joint Options are still pending with employers, as of September 29, 2023," the labour ministry said.
Therefore, the request has been considered sympathetically and the Chairman of the Central Board of Trustees has extended the time, for the employers to submit wage details, etc till December 31, 2023, the ministry said.
As many as 17.49 lakh Applications for Validation of Option/Joint Options have been received from pensioners/members till July 11, 2023.
Earlier an online facility was made available by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for submitting Applications for Validation of Options/Joint Options for pension on higher wages, a labour ministry statement said. Adding that the facility was for eligible pensioners/members in compliance with the Supreme Court order on November 4, 2022.
This came after in August 2014, the statutory wage ceiling for EPF was raised to Rs 15,000 per month, introducing changes such as new joiners with higher pay being ineligible for Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) membership. The pensionable salary calculation was altered to an average of the last 60 months' pay. Existing members contributing more were given 6 months to reaffirm their choice; otherwise, excess contributions would transfer to the PF account, with future contributions restricted to the wage ceiling.
Legal challenges followed, leading to a Supreme Court ruling in November 2022. The SC ruling allowed employees who were EPS members on September 1, 2014 and didn't limit their PF contributions to the wage ceiling, a four-month window to opt for higher pension contributions.
The facility was launched on February 26, 2023, and was to remain available only till May 3, 2023. However, considering the representations of the employees, the time limit was extended to June 26, 2023, in order to provide a complete four months’ time to eligible pensioners/members for filing applications. A last opportunity of 15 days was further given to remove any difficulty faced by the eligible pensioners/ members. Accordingly, the last date for submission of Applications for Validation of Options/Joint Options by employees was extended to July 11, 2023.
However, the retirement fund body has again given time for uploading wage details of applicant pensioners/members, the employers were also given a further period of three months to submit wage details till September 30.
Notably, while this higher pension scheme offers the potential for increased pensions, it comes with considerations like the transfer of funds from the PF account and additional payouts.