A Parliamentary panel on Tuesday said that the minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 for subscribers of the pension scheme run by retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation ( EPFO) is "grossly inadequate" and it is imperative for the labour ministry to pursue a proposal for raising the amount.
"...Rs 1000 per month pension which was fixed eight years back appears to be grossly inadequate now", the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour said in its 30th report on Demand for Grants , tabled in Parliament on Tuesday,
The panel said it becomes imperative on the part of the Ministry of Labour and Employment to pursue the matter with the Ministry of Finance for obtaining adequate budgetary support as recommended by the High-Empowered Monitoring Committee, besides impressing upon the EPFO (Employees' Provident Fund Organisation) to make an actuarial assessment of all its pension schemes so that the monthly member pension is enhanced to a reasonable extent.
The panel noted that in 2018, the ministry constituted a High-Empowered Monitoring Committee for complete evaluation and review of the Employees Pension Scheme, 1995. That committee in its report had inter-alia recommended that minimum monthly pension payable to the member/widow/widower pensioner may be raised to at least Rs 2,000, provided annual budgetary provision for the same is made, it stated.
However, it also noted that the Ministry of Finance has not agreed to any such enhancement in minimum pension beyond Rs 1,000 per month. The parliamentary panel found that the issue has been discussed in detail by several committees which have come to the conclusion that unless the actuarial assessment of surplus/deficit of EPFO's pension schemes is made, revision of the monthly pension cannot be done.
It also said difficulties are being faced by EPFO members for e-nomination, especially by those who retired before 2015, as well as in the functioning of the Online Transfer Claim Portal (OTCP). While taking note of the appreciable efforts made by the EPFO to maximise use of information and technology tools in line with Digital India initiative, the panel suggested that the retirement fund body should strive further to usher in systemic improvements to address the problems faced in e-nomination.
The pane further noted that out of the target of 71.80 lakh beneficiaries by March 31, 2022 under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), a total of 47.06 lakh employees have benefited as on February 6, 2022.