Major setback for some EPFO member’s. The Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has dropped a bombshell on some PF members. Out of 17.49 lakh applicants who requested a higher PF pension based on their salary, a whopping 7.35 lakh have been deemed ineligible for that higher pension.
So far, only a handful have benefited from this. Even after two years since the Supreme Court’s ruling, just 24,006 members have actually received the higher pension. Meanwhile, EPFO is still looking into 2.14 lakh applications for increased pensions, and 2.24 lakh applications are still waiting to be sent to the pension body by employers.
On top of that, 3.92 lakh applications were sent back to employers because they were missing information, and demand letters have been sent to 2.19 lakh applicants for extra payments. The overall settlement rate for this situation across the country stands at 58.95 percent.
EPFO is concerned about the financial implications. Reports suggest they might need to shell out Rs 1,86,920 crore to pay just 50% of the total applicants for the higher pension. In a recent meeting, they shared an actuarial analysis with the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), but employee representatives found it lacking and called for a more thorough analysis.
In their note, the CBT mentioned that a comprehensive study can only be completed once all high pension applications are fully processed. They also stated that interim actuarial assessments will keep happening for every 50,000 demand letters sent to those in the Employees’ Pension Scheme who opted for joint options with their employers.