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The contribution of Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is very important for the future and financial security of employed employees after retirement. According to the rules, on completion of minimum 10 years of eligible service in the organized sector, whether continuously or through different companies, an employee becomes entitled to receive monthly pension for life under the Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS-95). However, many times, despite doing full service, employees get a big shock at the time of retirement when their pension claim is rejected. The main reason for this is a slight discrepancy in the dates recorded in the PF account.
Which date mistake in EPF records becomes a big problem?
The calculation of service period in PF account completely depends on the joining and exit dates recorded in your records. Three common mistakes in records can stall the entire pension process:
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Difference in Date of Joining (DOJ): If the job start date entered by the company on the portal does not match with your actual appointment letter or service record.
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Date of Exit (DOE) blank or wrongly entered: If the employer has not updated the date of exit while leaving the old company, the EPFO system does not consider the old job as closed.
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Overlapping Service (Overlapping Dates): While changing jobs, if there is a conflict between the exit date of the old company and the joining date of the new company, then the system automatically rejects the claim considering the service history as invalid.
What are the basic rules for EPS-95 pension?
Every month, 8.33% of the employer’s 12% PF contribution under the Employee Pension Scheme (subject to a maximum limit of ₹1,250 per month) is deposited in the EPS account. There are two mandatory conditions for getting pension:
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The total contributory service of the employee should be at least 10 years.
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Pension benefits generally start after completing the age of 58 years (early pension option is also available after the age of 50 years).
If due to discrepancy in the dates recorded in the PF records, your total service recorded in the system is less than 9 years, 11 months or 10 years, then you will be eligible only for lump sum withdrawal (Withdrawal Benefit – Form 10C) instead of monthly pension and your right to monthly pension for life can be taken away.
How to correct dates on Unified Member Portal?
EPFO has provided online facility of ‘Joint Declaration’ to the members to update the exit date and make correction in other details at their own level:
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Unified Member Portal of EPFO (unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in) and login with your UAN and password.
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‘Manage’ go to tab ‘Mark Exit’ Click on. If it has been more than 2 months since you left the old company, you can enter the date of resignation yourself.
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If correction is to be made in date of joining or other personal details, ‘Manage’ in the menu ‘Joint Declaration’ Select option.
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Select the company in whose records there is an error and enter the correct date and upload the required documents (like joining letter, relieving letter or pay slip).
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After submitting the details, the request will go to your employer for approval, after which the concerned EPFO field office will make the final correction in the records.
Other disadvantages of not making timely corrections
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Claim Rejection: When you file ‘Form 10D’ for monthly pension on completion of 58 years, the claim will get rejected again and again due to mismatch of dates.
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Risk of company closure: If you do not get the records corrected from the old company in time and later that company gets closed or goes bankrupt, then it becomes very complicated to get the verification done from the field officer.
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Obstacles in scheme certificate: If there is less than 10 years of service, there are technical hurdles in issuing the ‘Scheme Certificate’ required for counting the service in the next job.