Higher PF pension: EPFO rejects 42% of applications

New Delhi: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has maintained that 7.35 lakh out of 17.49 lakh applicants seeking higher PF pensions in proportion to their salaries are not eligible for the benefit.

Even after two years since the Supreme Court ruling on higher PF pensions, only 24,006 individuals have received the revised pension so far. Meanwhile, 2.14 lakh applications are still under review by the EPFO, while 2.24 lakh applications are yet to be forwarded to the agency by employers.

The EPFO, meanwhile, has returned 3.92 lakh applications to employers due to incomplete details, while 2.19 lakh applicants have been issued demand letters asking for additional payments.

Kerala has fallen behind in settling applications for the joint option scheme. So far, only 27.35 per cent of applications have been processed in the state. Nationally, the disposal rate stands at 58.95 per cent. Out of 72,712 applications submitted from Kerala, only 19,886 have been settled, including those rejected and those for which demand letters have been issued.

Major financial liability, says EPFO
The EPFO estimates that Rs.1.86 lakh crore would be required to approve at least half of the joint option applications for higher PF pensions. The organisation has long cited this financial burden as a justification for delaying approvals.

A sample examination of 38,000 applications revealed that granting higher pensions would create a ₹9,500 crore deficit in the pension fund. The EPFO has stated that it will use collected data to calculate the additional financial liability. These estimates were disclosed in recent EPFO Trustee Board meeting documents.