EPF Pension Scheme was introduced in the year 1995 to cater to the pension needs of the employees in the organized sector. All employees registered under the EPFO can avail the benefits of employees’ pension scheme provided they complete 10 years of service. There are a host of other benefits covered under the EPS scheme that extends to spouse/ nominee and dependent children of the members. The EPS is clubbed with the EPF scheme which gives a lump sum as well as pension after retirement.
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All members registered under the EPF can avail this scheme. So the scheme can be availed by workers of the organized sector who make monthly contributions towards the EPF. The employees’ pension scheme is combined with the EPF. The government has upgraded the minimum pension amount to Rs 1000 a month. Earlier the pension granted was a meagre Rs 500 a month.
All members enrolled under the EPF scheme are eligible to get pension benefits provided they make regular contributions to EPF accounts. The amount varies from person to person. Listed below are the benefits of the EPF pension scheme:
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The EPF is deducted from the total salary of an individual from the moment he joins an organization or company. EPF contribution includes deposits made by both the employee and the employer. The employee contributes 12% of the basic salary plus dearness allowance to EPF. The entire 12% of contribution goes into the EPF account along with 3.67% (out of 12%) from the employer. The remaining 8.33% of employer’s contribution goes to Employee’s Pension Scheme.
The employee/member must fulfil the eligibility criteria as prescribed by the EPFO to become eligible to avail the benefits of employees’ pension scheme. The eligibility criteria are as follows:
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Some of the terms and conditions of the pension scheme that you should know are as follows:
Pension scheme certificate is provided to the employee who does not complete the minimum service period of 10 years. In this case the member can also opt for pension scheme certificate instead of opting for the pension scheme. Whenever the member rejoins service, the pension scheme certificate is used to add up the previous years of service. Due to this provision made by the government, the employees do not need to complete the 10 years service period again for availing the benefits of pension scheme.
A member can withdraw the pension early if he has already completed 10 years of service and has attained the age of 50 years. In this case the pension amount will be reduced by 4% for every year falling short of 58 years.
The EPFO has also introduced the provision for an enhanced pension. You can avail extra pension of an additional 4% if you avail the scheme after the age of 58 years. However, you can get only two such years as this benefit is not available after the age of 60.
There are various forms that must be submitted on different occasions to avail the benefits of the employee provident fund scheme. The forms related to the EPS are as follows:
Form name |
Filled by |
benefits |
Form 10C |
Member or beneficiary |
Withdrawal benefit Scheme certificate |
Form 10D |
Member |
To avail disability pension To avail pension after the age of 58 To avail pension after 50 but before turning 58 years of age. |
Form 10D |
Nominee/widow/widower/ children |
To avail nominee/pension or children pension or family pension |
Life Certificate |
Pensioner |
To be submitted by pension beneficiary or children every November To be submitted to the manager of pension disbursing banks
|
Non-remarriage Certificate |
Widow/widower |
To be submitted by widower every year To be submitted by widow at the beginning of pension To be submitted to the manager of pension disbursing banks
|
Is employee the only beneficiary of the Fund?
The benefits will be paid to the member. After his death the benefits will be extended to his family i.e. spouse/dependent children
Suppose employee does not have a Family and he/she dies before receiving benefit. Does his/her pension get lost?
In case the member does not have a family then the benefits will be given to the nominee.
How many years service is required to be eligible to receive pension?
The member must complete 10 years of service period to get the benefits of employees provident fund.
Can member not get pension earlier?
Yes, the member can opt to get pension once he reaches the age of 50 years. However the pension will be reduced by 3% for each year falling short of 58 years.
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