New Delhi: The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has clarified reports claiming that the minimum pension for PF members would be raised from ₹1,000 to ₹7,500. In response to an RTI (Right to Information) query, the EPFO stated that no such decision has been taken.

The PF pension is based on the contributions collected from employees. The current minimum pension of ₹1,000 was implemented with support from the Union Budget. Although a High-Level Monitoring Committee had recommended increasing the minimum pension to ₹2,000 and submitted the suggestion to the Finance Ministry, it was not accepted. This was confirmed by the EPFO in its RTI reply dated June 18.

The Employees Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS-95) calculates PF pension based on 8.33% of the employee’s salary contribution and 1.16% from the central government. Regardless of how high the salary, the maximum salary considered for contribution is capped at ₹15,000. As a result, even high-salaried employees have been receiving relatively low pensions.

After long legal battle, the Supreme Court in its verdict on November 4, 2022, allowed higher pension based on actual salary. Following this, around 17.5 lakh people across the country applied for higher pension, but only a limited number have started receiving.

It was amidst these ongoing cases that false news began to spread claiming that the Union Cabinet had decided to increase the minimum pension to ₹7,500. Many people believed this to be true. However, the clarification came in response to an RTI application filed by PF consultant Sagar.

The EPFO stated that since 2000 (except in 2014–15), the EPS fund has been running on a deficit. Even though the EPS scheme does not have a provision for providing pensions with budgetary support, the minimum pension of ₹1,000 was made possible only with the help of the Union Budget.