New Delhi: A parliamentary committee will seek an explanation from the Finance Ministry for rejecting the Labor Ministry’s proposal to increase the pension of Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) subscribers from the existing Rs 1,000 per month. However, the amount of the increase proposed by the labor ministry could not be ascertained. Top officials of the Labor Ministry and EPFO on Thursday briefed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labor under the chairmanship of BJD MP Bhartrihari Mahtab about the operation of the EPF Pension Scheme and the management of its funds.
Officials told the committee that the finance ministry did not agree to the labor ministry’s proposal for any increase in monthly pension. The committee has now decided to call top officials of the Finance Ministry to seek clarification regarding this move. The committee in its report had recommended increasing the minimum monthly pension payable to the member/widow/widow pensioner by at least Rs.2,000.
EPFO board made changes in a pension scheme
EPFO has allowed employees who retire in less than six months to withdraw deposits under the Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS-95). At present, the Employees’ Provident Fund Fund (EPFO) allows subscribers to withdraw deposits from the Employees’ Provident Fund account only if there are less than six months of service left.
This decision means that now the subscribers of EPFO will be able to withdraw money from the pension fund as well. EPFO allows withdrawal of the amount deposited in its Employees Provident Fund account i.e. EPF account only if the service is less than six months till now. According to the rules till now, you get pension fund money after retirement. However, now the EPFO has sent its proposal to the Finance Ministry and its official approval is awaited.
Reach 10 crore people
According to Union Labor Minister Bhupendra Yadav, the scope of EPFO will be increased from the existing 6.5 crore members to 10 crore members. He said that the biggest responsibility of EPFO is to reduce its litigation and increase the spread.
