The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has given employers the final opportunity to upload wage details until January 31, next year, as over 3.1 lakh applications are pending for pension on higher wages.
Employers have also been requested to submit replies/update the information in 4.66 lakh cases. by January 15, 2025where clarification has been sought by EPFO, the Ministry of Labor and Employment, stated on Wednesday.
So far, over 17 lakh EPFO members have applied for the option to contribute on their actual basic pay to get a higher pension following a Supreme Court judgment of 2022.
The government had given several extensions for submitting applications online for validation of options or joint options for pension on higher wages from February 26, 2023, after the Apex Court verdict of November 4, 2022.
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The window for submitting applications was to remain open until May 3, last year. However, not everyone complied with this deadline.
The Ministry said that considering the employees’ representations, the time limit was extended to June 26, 2023, to give eligible pensioners/members four months’ time to file applications.
A last opportunity of 15 days was further given to remove any difficulty the eligible pensioners/members faced, extending the date to July 11, last year. A total of 17.49 lakh applications for validation of Option / Joint Options were received from pensioners/members until the last cut-off date.
The Ministry said that in view of representations received from Employers and Employers’ Associations for extending the time period for uploading wage details of applicant pensioners/members, employers were given multiple opportunities to submit wage details online until September 30, 2023, which was extended again. until December 31 and thereafter until May 31, 2024, to ensure that employers were able to process the applications.
“In spite of so many extensions, it has been observed that more than 3.1 lakh Applications for Validation of Options / Joint Options are still pending with employers. Many representations have also been received from Employers & Employers’ Associations wherein requests have been made to extend further time period for uploading wage details of applicant pensioners/members,” the Ministry stated.