The much-awaited minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 and a higher wage ceiling of Rs 15,000 for social security schemes run by retirement fund manager Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will be implemented from September 1.
The government's decision to fix pension entitlement of Rs 1,000 under the Employees' Pension Scheme 1995 (EPFS-95) will immediately benefit 28 lakh pensioners who get less than this amount at present.
The move to enhance the minimum wage ceiling for becoming a subscriber of EPFO to Rs 15,000 per month is expected to bring 50 lakh additional formal sector workers under the ambit.
"The government has notified enhancement of wage ceiling to Rs 15,000 per month, fixed minimum monthly pension at Rs 1,000 under EPS-95 and enhanced the maximum sum assured under the Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) Scheme to Rs 3 lakh," said EPFO's Central Provident Fund Commission K K Jalan.
“Now the maximum sum assured under the EDLI works out to be Rs 3.6 lakh, including 20 per cent ad hoc benefit over the prescribed amount under the notification," he added.
This means that in case an EPFO subscriber dies, his family will be entitled to maximum sum of Rs 3.6 lakh instead of existing Rs 1.56 lakh.