EPFO asks staff to enforce new pension, wage cap

Retirement fund body EPFO has asked its field staff to take steps to enforce the new Rs 15,000 wage sealing for organised sector workers under the social security net which the government announced in the Union Budget.

The staff has also been asked to provide minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 under its schemes.

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation’s (EPFO) office order stated that the gazette notifications regarding the two decisions “are likely to be issued very soon”.

In the Budget 2014-15 speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that the wage ceiling for workers in organised sector under EPFO-run social security schemes would be raised to Rs 15,000 per month, from Rs 6,500, and the minimum monthly pension of Rs 1000 would be provided under the Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS-95).

According to the office order, the pensionable salary for calculating the pension shall be the average of the monthly pay drawn during the contributory period of service in the span of 60 months preceding the date of exit from the membership of Employees’ Pension Fund.

The EPS-95 scheme provides that a subscriber can be member up to the age of 58 years.

Under the new arrangement, the pensionable salary shall be calculated on pro-rata basis for the period up to the date of notification - where wage ceiling is Rs 6,500, and for the subsequent period where the wage ceiling is Rs 15,000 per month.

Similarly the (PF) withdrawal benefits shall be based on the weightage of wages at different ceilings.

The office order further asked the field staff to obtain fresh option for contribution on higher basic wages than prescribed basic wage ceiling.

At present, certain employees are drawing more basic wages than wage ceiling of Rs 6,500 per month and opt to contribute on their higher basis wage. As per the circular, the fresh option to contribute on higher wages in view of new wage ceiling, is to be exercised in six months.