Government pensioners have to submit Life Certificate within the deadline. But EPS members can submit life certificate anytime throughout the year. Let us know which documents are required to submit the life certificate.

According to EPFO ​​data , crores of EPFO ​​members in the country get pension benefits. Every year, all these EPFO ​​members, i.e. those who get pension benefits through the EPS scheme, have to provide proof of their survival.

Also Read: Railway Passengers alert! These trains will remain canceled from 28th May to 2nd June, check list here

Every year the members of the Employees’ Pension Scheme ( EPS ) have to submit a life certificate. Currently, EPS members can also submit a life certificate digitally.

If a person avails the benefit of government pension then he has to submit life certificate before 30th November. At the same time, there is no such time limit for the beneficiary of EPS. He can submit the life certificate any time throughout the year.

How can EPS members submit life certificate?

Pensioners can easily submit life certificate through EPS Member Pension Distributor Bank, Common Service Centre, IPPB, Indian Post Office, Postman, Umang App or EPFO.

Documents required for life certificate

The beneficiary of the EPS scheme has to submit PPO number, Aadhaar number, bank account details, mobile number linked to Aadhaar etc. in the form of life certificate.

Why is life certificate required to be submitted?

Along with the beneficiary of government pension, the beneficiary in the EPS scheme also has to submit a life certificate every year. Through the Life Certificate, the organization and the government come to know that the beneficiary is alive.

For a super senior citizen i.e. those who are above 80 years of age, the deadline for submitting life certificate starts from October 1. At the same time, senior citizens i.e. pensioners aged between 60 to 80 years have to submit life certificate between November 1 and November 30.

Presently pensioners can easily submit life certificate through online and offline mode.

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EPFO has finally come out with a mechanism for contribution towards Higher EPS Pension, as per which members opting for Higher Pension will no longer have to contribute an additional 1.16% of their salary. Rather, this contribution will be made from the employer’s share to the employee’s EPS account.

EPFO has amended the rule regarding deduction of contribution with effect from September 1, 2014 regarding EPS pension. Because, the Supreme Court in its judgment declared this rule invalid on 4 November 2022 and asked EPFO ​​to introduce a replacement system.

In a circular issued on 3 May 2023, the Ministry of Labor and Employment said that out of the total 12% contribution of employers in PF, it has been decided to take an additional contribution of 1.16%. Alok Agarwal, partner, Deloitte India, said EPFO ​​has given an important clarification that the additional 1.16 per cent contribution will be diverted from within the total 12 per cent of the employer’s PF contribution.

Employees whose salary is less than the salary limit fixed by EPFO ​​have to contribute to EPF and EPS. For employees opting for higher pension, the EPFO ​​was asked to pay an additional 1.16% on the portion of their basic pay which was above the wage ceiling. But as per the Supreme Court judgment and the existing instructions, the employees will have to pay only 12% of the actual basic pay and no additional amount will have to be paid for the higher pension.

Alok Agarwal, partner, Deloitte India, said that apart from the additional contribution in the higher pension application, doubts were raised on several points by employers and employees. Many EPS members still did not fully understand the financial parameters and the use of joint options.

In such a situation, increasing the date of application from 3rd May to 26th June has been the right decision. At the same time, the new system of EPFO ​​regarding contribution is a big relief for EPS members.

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What is the matter: Actually, in November 2022, the Supreme Court had given an order on higher pension. According to this, all the members of EPFO who are EPS members can now contribute for higher pension with conditions.

Who is eligible for higher pension?

1) Employees who were members under EPS prior to 1st September 2014, and continue to be members on or after that date

2) Employees and employers who paid the contribution on salary in excess of the standard salary limit of ₹5,000 or ₹6,500. Explain that EPS was started in 1995 and under this the higher pensionable basic salary was Rs 5,000 per month. It was later increased to Rs 6,500 and the basic salary to Rs 15,000 per month with effect from September 1, 2014.

As of now, the company’s pension contribution for the employee is 8.33% of Rs 15,000 i.e. Rs 1,250. Even if the basic salary is more than Rs 15,000, the employer’s contribution to the pension is calculated only on the basic salary of Rs 15,000.

How to apply

• EPFO’s https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/ portal will have to go.
• Here you will see the Pension on Higher Salary tab. Click on this tab.
• In the next step, the option of “Joint Application Form” will also be given.
• After clicking it enter the details asked on the screen. This includes UAN, name, date of birth, Aadhaar number, mobile number linked to Aadhaar and captcha.
• Then click on “Get OTP”.
• One-time password will be sent to your Aadhaar linked mobile number.
• The application will be verified by the employer after its submission by the EPFO official.

If all the details are correct, the amount due will be calculated and an order will be passed to transfer the dues. In case of mismatch, the employer and employee will be informed by EPFO and they will be given a period of one month to complete the information.

Interest rate on PF deposits for FY23 is 8.15%

EPFO increased the interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund to 8.15% for FY23. This is a slight increase compared to the previous year. Explain that EPF has the highest interest rate in the small savings category.

The post EPFO’s higher pension deadline is about to end, how to apply, know everything first appeared on Rightsofemployees.com.

It will depend on many factors like current age, employment status, risk appetite, health status, cash flow requirement, taxes etc. This eligible employee should evaluate other options and then choose There has been a lot of discussion on the Supreme Court’s order related to more pension contribution. Is this good news for the members of Employees’ Pension Scheme ie EPS ? What is the significance of this decision?

Employees contribute about 12 per cent of their salary every month to the provident fund and the same amount is deposited by the employer. Out of the employer’s contribution, 8.33 per cent goes towards EPS. However, a wage ceiling (which is Rs 15,000 at present) remains in place for this purpose. In other words, the pension contribution per month does not exceed Rs 1,250.

Even though scheme employees have been given the option to contribute on higher wages to the EPS scheme , in practice not many employees have opted for it.

Increase in wage ceiling

In August 2014, when the notification was issued to increase the wage ceiling from Rs 6,500 to Rs 15,000 per month, some other changes were also made, which are as follows:

Those earning more than Rs 15,000 per month will not be eligible to become EPS members. The pensionable salary will be calculated on the average of the last 60 months’ salary to determine the pension, whereas the current system is the average of 12 months.

Existing members who are paying contribution on higher salary were given 6 months time to give a joint declaration confirming the option to contribute pension on higher salary.

If the joint declaration is not submitted, their contribution to EPS will be transferred to PF accounts and future EPS contribution will be capped at the wage ceiling. This notification was challenged in various courts and finally the Supreme Court gave its verdict on November 4, 2022.

The Supreme Court considered the challenges faced by the employees due to ambiguity in the provisions and ruled that the employees would have four months to opt for higher pension contribution.

EPFO was instructed to issue guidelines related to it within eight weeks. This opportunity was available to all employees who had become EPS members by September 1, 2014.

Higher pension contribution

The higher pension contribution will definitely make the employee eligible to get higher pension. This may sound like an attractive proposition as the pension will be based on the average of the last 60 months’ salary, while the contribution will be made at very low salary levels during the service period.

However, this is not the only factor that needs to be considered before making a decision. Why so? Simply because the funds going to EPS will be transferred from the PF account of the employees along with the interest.

An additional payment of 1.16 per cent from the salary will also be made as the difference from the PF contribution of the employees till a legal amendment is made to do away with this requirement. This would mean that now no one would be eligible to withdraw that portion outright.

Now the question arises whether EPS members should contribute to the EPS scheme on higher salary? It will depend on many factors like current age, employment status, risk appetite, health status, cash flow requirement, taxes etc. This eligible employee should assess the other options and then choose.

So how can an employer help? They can sensitize the employees and enable them to take informed decisions. Overall, there is still a long way to go.

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