look news india
Promises of minimum pension hike under the EPS-95 scheme are re-heard. With an important meeting to be held in October, pensioners are waiting for a “Diwali gift” from the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO).
The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of EPFO will meet in Bengaluru between 10 and 11 October. This meeting will be chaired by Union Labor and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandavia. In this meeting, important decisions in relation to pensioners and EPF account holders are expected to be taken.
EPF can announce several benefits to increase domestic income for its customers before Diwali.
This will be the first meeting in seven months. One of the major agenda is to give a complete new look to the EPFO portal to provide smooth transactions for EPF and EPS accounts. Prominent IT companies like Infosys, TCS, Wipro have been selected for upgrade under EPFO 3.0.
Under the planned upgradation, EPFO members will be able to make financial transactions such as partial withdrawal through ATM or UPI. It symbolizes a significant change towards digital access and convenience.
The main issue of discussion is an increase in minimum pension under EPS-1995. According to reports, the long -standing demand of trade unions due to rising inflation, pension can be increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500 per month. Earlier, a high-level monitoring committee proposed Rs 2,000 per month. But the Finance Ministry did not approve it.
During the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi government, on September 1, 2014, the first minimum monthly pension was implemented at Rs 1,000. EPS-1995 is a beneficial social security scheme. Its fund (i) 8.33 percent of the salary paid by the employer, (ii) is made from 1.16 percent of the salary paid by the central government, up to Rs 15,000 monthly salary.
