New Delhi: Employees who wish to receive a pension on higher wages should apply by July 11, as the deadline to apply for a higher EPS pension has been extended to July 11 2023 from June 26, 2023.
Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation issued a press release on June 26, 2023, stating that it is the last opportunity for the employees to submit their joint application form for a higher pension from EPS.
In the release, it was further stated that applicants should submit the application form within 15 days to get a pension on higher wages. Along with this EPFO also mentioned the extension of three months for employers applying for EPS for uploading wage details online.
“Last opportunity of 15 days is being given to remove any difficulty faced by the eligible pensioners/ members. Accordingly, the last date for submission of Applications for Validation of Option / Joint Options by employees is extended to 11.07.2023,” stated the press release.
This is the third time that EPFO has changed the deadline to apply for a higher pension for Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) subscribers. Initially, the deadline to apply for an EPS pension was March 3, 2023. The deadline of four months was set by the Supreme Court in its judgement which passed on June 4, 2022.
EPFO eligibility
In the judgement passed by the Supreme Court, it has been mentioned specifically that, which category of employees can apply for the higher EPS pension. Only those can apply for an EPS pension who are:
- Member of EPS and/or EPF on September 1, 2014, and continued to remain the same after.
- Employees who retired before September 1, 2014, and made contributions to their EPF account. However, their EPS pension request was denied by the EPFO.
