The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) head office has written to its field offices, raising concern over the very high number of rejected higher pension applications compared to the number of demand letters issued.
This letter, sent on May 23, follows instructions from the Ministry of Labour and Employment asking EPFO to audit all rejected cases of higher pension applications.
Application Status and Rejections
After a Supreme Court order, 17.49 lakh people applied for the higher pension option. As of March 31, 2025, about 1.02 lakh of these were sent back to employers for missing details.
Another 3.68 lakh had demand letters issued. So far, over 1 lakh pensioners and 47,000 current employees have deposited the extra amount asked by EPFO.
Out of these, 34,500 pension payment orders (PPOs) have been issued, with another 19,000 still being processed.
Complaints and Errors
The EPFO head office said that it received many complaints from both employees and employers about rejections that could have been avoided.
Most issues were minor and could have been fixed easily with better support. The letter also noted that some offices were rejecting applications for reasons not supported by the rules.
In some cases, officers were more focused on finding reasons to reject rather than helping complete the process.
EPFO has now asked its officers to follow the official guidelines closely and only reject applications for solid reasons.
Members should also be given a fair chance to correct small mistakes in their forms.
Rules and Deposits
In 2022, the Supreme Court upheld changes to the pension scheme allowing members who were part of the EPF on September 1, 2014, to contribute 8.33% of their full salary, instead of a fixed Rs 15,000.
If the required amount is already in their EPF account, it can simply be moved to the pension fund. If not, the employee or the employer needs to pay it directly.
The EPFO also pointed out that some rejections were based on an incorrect understanding of terms or rules. For example, there were cases where EPF trusts were wrongly assumed to block extra pension contributions.
Audit and Deadlines
To deal with the issue, the Ministry has asked the retirement fund body to carry out an audit using teams of chartered accountants listed under the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
EPFO may also send its teams to review rejected cases, especially those involved in court matters.
Back in January 2025, the EPFO had already warned its field offices about slow progress despite multiple reminders.
New deadlines were set: January 25, 2025, for offices with fewer than 5,000 cases, and February 7, 2025, for the rest. All clear cases should have their PPOs issued by January 24, 2025.
Key Figures
- Demand Letters Issued: 1.19 lakh (as of Nov 2024), 3.68 lakh (as of Mar 2025)
- PPOs Issued: 16,282 (as of Nov 2024), 34,500 (as of Mar 2025)
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