How to apply for Higher pension in EPFO Portal

he Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has recently introduced guidelines for employees to opt for higher pensions following a Supreme Court order on November 4. The court ruled that employees could now contribute up to 8.33% of their actual salaries towards their pensions, instead of the previous cap of 8.33% on pensionable salaries up to ₹ 15,000 per month. In light of this decision, the retirement fund body has activated a link on their unified members’ portal, which enables subscribers to apply for a higher pension by May 3, 2023.

If you are applying for the higher pension, follow these steps:

1. Visit the member e-Sewa portal.
2. The EPFO has activated a link on its website which says “Exercise of joint option on or before May 3, 2023” for opting Pension on increased salary. Clicking on it will bring up a new page with two choices. The user must select the second option: Request for joint options form
3. Next, choose “Application form for joint options – Joint options under erstwhile paras. 11 (3) and (4) of EPS 1995 for employees who were in service prior to September 2014 and continued to be in service on or after September 1, 2014, but were unable to exercise joint options under erstwhile para. 11 (3) of EPS 1995 to be exercised on or before May 3, 2023.”
4. The person will have to enter information such as their UAN, name, date of birth, Aadhaar number, Aadhaar-linked mobile number, and correctly complete the captcha on the page that will open.
5. There will be a “Get OTP” option after completing the form, and this will send an OTP to a mobile number associated with Aadhaar card.

According to a circular from EPFO on December 29, 2022, the central government has directed the implementation of the Supreme Court’s decision, giving EPS members until six months after September 1, 2014, to opt for the amended scheme. Additionally, eligible subscribers have an additional four months to opt for a higher pension under EPS-95.

The court also removed the requirement for employee contributions of 1.16% of salaries exceeding ₹ 15,000 per month, allowing subscribers to contribute more to the scheme and receive increased benefits. Moreover, eligible subscribers who contributed on actual wages higher than ₹ 5,000 or ₹ 6,500 per month prevalent threshold pensionable salary or exercised their option for higher pension or had their request for higher pension declined by EPFO authorities before the amendment to EPS-95 in 2014, were provided with the higher pension option in the circular.

Subscribers who meet the eligibility criteria can apply for the enhanced benefit jointly with their employer using the application form prescribed by the commissioner and submitting all required documents, including a joint declaration.