The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has issued detailed guidelines for pensioners and their former employers on the application process for higher pensions. As per its updated guidelines in February 2023, employees who retired before September 1, 2014, and those who continued after that date are eligible to apply for higher pensions and the EPFO higher pension deadline ends on December 31,2023.

The revised rules came after the Supreme Court ruled that employees who have continued in their jobs after September 1, 2014, are also eligible for higher pensions. In its earlier guidelines in December 2022, EPFO provided the option only to those who retired before September 2014.

Other criteria include the employees and employers who contributed to the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) on salaries exceeding the wage ceiling of Rs. 5,000 or Rs. 6,500 and were members of EPS-95 and did not exercise the joint option provided under the 2014 amendment.

Employees who were members of EPS-95 and exercised the joint options but did not file new joint options after the 2014 amendment are not eligible to claim a higher pension.

For proof of joint option/ validation of option, the applicants must submit the wage details, salary slip or letter from the employer for authentication, copy of joint request and undertaking from the employer, and letter from the provident fund office before November 2, 2022, indicating PF. Some documents are be submitted by the employees and some by employers.

Huge Representations From Employees

EPFO received 17.49 lakh applications for validation and joint options till July 11. On February 26, 2023, EPFO launched an online facility to submit applications for validation of option /joint options for pensions on higher wages in compliance with the Supreme Court order on November 4, 2022. Given the large representations, the EPFO Higher Pension Deadline extended the time limit until December 31.

According to the Labour Ministry, more than 5.5 lakh applications for validation of option/ joint options were pending with employers as of September 29, 2023.

How To Apply For A Higher Pension?

Employees must visit the EPFO unified member portal and click on the ‘Pension on Higher Salary: Online application for validation of Joint Option’ option. They must fill in the details and submit the form. The EPFO will digitally register the application and provide a receipt number.

It will then forward the applications to the employers for verifying them through digital signature for further processing. It will then verify the wage details submitted by the employers, and dues will be calculated before passing an order for depositing or transferring the dues.

After examining the cases, the authority will convey the higher pension decision to the applicants via email, post, or phone. If there is a mismatch, it will also inform the employer and the pensioner to rectify it within a month.