Government may file review plea on Supreme Court ruling on pension scheme; details here

The Supreme Court’s decision on the Employees’ Pension (Amendment) Scheme is being reviewed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. According to a report in the Financial Express, the Centre may file a special petition against the ruling. “There is a belief that at least some portions of the ruling may be challenging to implement given the increased liability, so it is considering the potential of submitting a special leave petition,” sources familiar with the matter told the media outlet. The report added that a decision is going to be taken after the discussions at the highest level. The implementation of the Supreme Court ruling would cause a higher outgo for the retirement fund body in terms of Provident Fund (PF) and pension pay-out.

The government and the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) are said to be in talks to evaluate the additional liability for the higher pension. The Supreme Court in its ruling on the EPS amendment this year, stated that EPFO members can contribute more to EPS if certain conditions are met. Furthermore, those who joined the EPS on or after 1 September 2014, will not be eligible to join the scheme if their basic monthly salary is over Rs 15,000.

A meeting of the Central Board of the EPFO has been sought by the trade unions at the earliest for implementing the decision. Recently, the All India EPF Staff Federation had also written to the Central PF Commissioner seeking clarity on the scheme’s details. It stated that the field formations were finding it difficult to respond to queries coming from pensioners and subscribers.

The apex court’s ruling also opened a four-month window for eligible employees who had not chosen the higher pension coverage before 2014 to jointly do so with their employers. The requirement in the 2014 amendments was also struck down by the SC. The requirement mandated employee contribution of 1.16 per cent of the salary exceeding Rs 15,000 a month.

Accordingly, employees who were existing EPS members as on 1 September 2014, are able to contribute a maximum of 8.33 per cent of their actual salaries, as against 8.33 per cent of the capped salary towards pension. But this part of the order has been suspended for six months. During this time, amendments may be brought by the legislature for the generation of additional sources of funds for the EPS scheme.

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