The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has issued 1,49,806 pension payment orders for higher contributions to retired applicants in line following the November 2022 Supreme Court order, PTI reported.<\/p>\n
This was shared by Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State (MoS) for the Ministry of Labour and Employment, in a written reply to Lok Sabha<\/a> this week. The orders come following the apex court’s direction to the Centre to facilitate higher contribution to the pension scheme as per their actual wage so that members can get higher benefit.<\/p>\n \u2018Consider enhancing minimum pension benefits\u2019<\/p>\n A day later, BJP Rajya Sabha member K Laxman asked the Centre to also consider enhancing minimum pension benefits through a special mention in the house, PTI reported. He stated that \u201cstatutory minimum pension remains \u20b91,000 while the cost of food, medicines and healthcare has increased substantially over the years\u201d.<\/p>\n Seeking to draw the government’s attention to the issue of \u201cmillions of retired workers across the country\u201d, Laxman said there is a need to strengthen social security under EPS<\/a>.<\/p>\n He noted that workers’ unions have represented that the minimum pension may be enhanced linked to inflation through an appropriate mechanism and suggested that affordable healthcare support for pensioners and spouses also be considered.<\/p>\n Track EPF claim \u2014 SMS<\/p>\n