Monthly Pension of Rs. 1000 is Not Sufficient for EPFO Members Says Parliamentary Panel

The minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 for subscribers to the pension scheme run by retirement fund body EPFO is “grossly inadequate,” according to a Parliamentary panel on Tuesday, and it is imperative that the labor ministry pursue a proposal to increase the amount. “…the Rs 1000 per month pension that was fixed eight years ago appears to be grossly inadequate now,” stated the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labor in its 30th report on Demand for Grants 2022-23, which was tabled in Parliament.

The panel stated that the Ministry of Labor and Employment must pursue the matter with the Ministry of Finance in order to obtain adequate budgetary support as recommended by the High-Empowered Monitoring Committee, as well as pressuring the EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation) to conduct an actuarial assessment of all its pension schemes in order to increase the monthly member pension to a reasonable extent.

It was noted that the ministry formed a High-Empowered Monitoring Committee in 2018 to conduct a comprehensive evaluation and review of the Employees Pension Scheme, 1995.

In its report, the committee recommended, among other things, that the minimum monthly pension payable to a member/widow/widower pensioner be increased to at least Rs 2,000, provided that annual budgetary provision for the same is made.

However, it was also noted that the Ministry of Finance had not agreed to any such increase in the minimum pension above Rs 1,000 per month.

The parliamentary panel discovered that the issue has been thoroughly debated by several committees, all of which have concluded that revising the monthly pension cannot be done until an actuarial assessment of the surplus/deficit of EPFO’s pension schemes is completed.

It also stated that EPFO members, particularly those who retired before 2015, are having difficulty with e-nomination, as well as the operation of the Online Transfer Claim Portal (OTCP).

While noting the EPFO’s commendable efforts to maximize the use of information and technology tools in line with the Digital India initiative, the panel suggested that the retirement fund body strive even harder to bring about systemic improvements to address the problems encountered with e-nomination.

The panel also noted that, as of February 6, 2022, 47.06 lakh employees had benefited from the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), which had a target of 71.80 lakh beneficiaries by March 31, 2022.

As of the same date, 5.42 lakh employees who left their jobs between March 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020 and then joined any EPF-registered establishment between October 1, 2020 and March 31, 2022 had reaped the benefits of the scheme.

Furthermore, as of February 14, 2022, a total of 1,29,672 establishments had received benefits in respect of 48,95,597 employees after meeting ABRY requirements.

The ministry is taking a number of steps in order to reach all 71.80 lakh targeted beneficiaries by March 31, 2022.

The panel also stated that the eligibility conditions for receiving benefits under the ABRY should be revisited and streamlined, as a number of employers/employees are being denied benefits due to a lack of awareness as well as the complexities involved.

It was suggested that the ministry investigate these issues with a sense of urgency and priority, with a particular emphasis on strengthening awareness programmes, so that the ABRY’s stated goal of benefiting both employers and employees is truly realized.

In light of the pandemic’s impact, the panel advised the ministry to re-energize its resources in order to compensate for shortfalls in the optimal achievement of targets in some major schemes.

It was noted that the ministry was unable to meet the targets for a large number of major schemes during 2021-22.

It stated, for example, that the targets for new enrolments of working children in Special Training Centres (STCs) under the National Child Labor Project could only be met to the tune of 2,514 new enrolments against a target of 50,000 children.

Only 5,534 of the 40,000 children who were supposed to be mainstreamed into the formal education system were able to enroll.

While the target for the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi MaanDhaan Yojana (PM-SYM) was one crore new enrolments, the number of beneficiaries enrolled has only been 1,10,791. (as on December 2021).

Only 41 of the 100 Model Career Centres (MCCs) proposed for operation could be put into operation. While the target for education under labor welfare schemes was 4 lakh, only 1.11 lakh were achieved.

Similarly, it was noted that enrolment in the National Pension Scheme for traders, shopkeepers, and self-employed people was a pitiful 4,249 compared to the target of 25 lakh.