Employees Pension Scheme amended to offer withdrawal benefits to more members

The Employees Pension Scheme (EPS) 1995 has been amended by the Government of India to ensure that the EPS members having less than 6 months of contributory service will also be able to avail withdrawal benefits. 

Due to the amendment in the EPS scheme, over 7 lakh EPS members every year, who leave the scheme with less than 6 months of contributory service, will now be benefitted.

In addition to this, Table D has been modified by the Central Government, which has ensured that every completed month of service rendered is taken into consideration to offer proportionate withdrawal benefits to EPS members.

The number of completed months of service provided by the EPS member and the earnings on which the EPS contribution was received will now be taken into account to determine the amount of the withdrawal benefit. The withdrawal advantage that the EPS members receive has been rationalized by above measure. 

Related News: NDA Govt Proposes 50% Assured Pension Under NPS

The modified Table D is expected to help up to 23 lakh EPS members every year.  Nearly 7 lakh claims for withdrawal benefits were rejected as the contributory service of EPS members was less than 6 months during the financial period between 2023 to 2024. But now all such EPS members who are not yet 58 years old (as on 14th of June, 2024) will become entitled for the EPS withdrawal benefit.

Previously, the calculation under erstwhile Table D did not take into account the fractional period of service rendered for less than 6 months after each completed year. This led to a lesser amount of withdrawal benefit in many cases.