The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on January 18 updated the list of documents required to avail of a pension in the case of the death of an EPS 95 pensioner.

Employees’ Pension Scheme or EPS 95 refers to a social security plan launched by EPFO in 1995. The scheme allows organised sector employees to receive a pension after retiring at 58 years.

EPFO’s latest announcement on Twitter comes after it clarified in December last year regarding the eligibility criteria for higher pensions in compliance with the Supreme Court order to lay down the terms and conditions for an EPFO member to receive higher pension benefits.

Here’s the list of documents you would need to avail of a pension if the EPS 95 pensioner dies:

The beneficiaries can submit a request letter along with these documents-

· Death certificate of the pensioner

· Copy of Aadhar of beneficiaries

· Bank details (original cancelled cheque or attested copy of bank passbook) of beneficiaries

· Proof of age in the case of children

While the EPF pension scheme makes provisions for employees working in the organised sector for a pension upon reaching their retirement at 58, the benefits can only be availed if the employee has served for at least 10 years, although continuous service is not mandatory. When it was launched in 1995, the scheme permitted both existing and new EPF members to join.

The EPFO circular on December 29, 2022, specified the eligibility criteria for employees seeking higher pensions and the ways to apply online. It notified that only those employees who contributed to higher wages as mandated under the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) scheme and exercised their option for higher pensions before retirement are eligible for a higher pension.

The circular stated, “the employees who have retired before September 1, 2014, upon exercising option under paragraph 11(3) of the 1995 scheme shall be covered by the provisions of paragraph 11(3) of the pension scheme as it stood prior to the amendment of 2014.”

Additionally, detailing the eligibility of pensioners applying for a higher pension, the circular said the EPS members who “contributed on salary exceeding the then prevalent wage ceiling of Rs 5,000 or Rs 6,500” are eligible. Also, EPFO subscribers “who exercised a joint option under EPS of the pre-amendment scheme while being members of EPS-95” would be declined.