EPFO Offers Final Chance to Employees for Higher Pension Option and Extends Time for Employers to Upload Wage Details

Pune, 26th June 2023: In accordance with the recent order from the Hon’ble Supreme Court dated November 4, 2022, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has launched an online facility to allow eligible pensioners and members to submit applications for validation of the option of receiving a pension based on higher wages. Initially, the facility was made available from February 26, 2023, until May 3, 2023. However, due to employee representations, the deadline has been extended to June 26, 2023, providing a total of four months for eligible pensioners and members to file their applications. As of June 26, 2023, EPFO has received a remarkable 16.06 lakh applications for validation of option or joint options.

To address any difficulties faced by eligible pensioners and members, EPFO is granting a final opportunity for a period of 15 days. The deadline for submission of applications for validation of option or joint options has been further extended to July 11, 2023. This extension aims to ensure that all eligible individuals can avail themselves of the higher pensionary benefits without any hurdles. If any eligible pensioner or member encounters issues with updating their KYC (Know Your Customer) details and faces difficulty in submitting the online application, they are advised to promptly lodge a grievance on EPFiGMS (EPFO’s Grievance Management System) for resolution. The grievance category to be selected should be “Higher Pensionary Benefits on Higher Wages” to ensure proper record-keeping and subsequent action.

Furthermore, EPFO has received numerous representations from employers and employers’ associations, requesting an extension of the time period for uploading wage details of pensioner applicants. Considering these appeals, EPFO has sympathetically considered the matter and granted employers an additional three months to submit wage details and other necessary information online. The new deadline for employers to complete this process is now set for September 30,

2023.