New Delhi: Major decisions for the benefit of the EPFO members were taken during the 236th Meeting of Central Board of Trustees (CBT), EPFO. The meeting which was presided by Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports took various decisions regarding interest calculation, healthy investment fund management; adopts initiatives to further simplify processes benefitting both employers and employees on November 30.
CBT in its meeting approved a significant amendment to paragraph 60(2)(b) of the EPF Scheme, 1952.
As per existing provisions, for the claim settled till 24th of the month, interest is paid only upto the end of the preceding month. Now, the interest will be paid to the member upto the date of settlement. This will result in financial benefit to the members and reduce the grievances.
Till now, interest-bearing claims are not processed between the 25th and the end of each month to avoid loss of interest to the members. After this decision, these claims will be processed for the entire month leading to reduced pendency, timely settlement and optimized utilization of resources. It reflects EPFO’s commitment to efficient, transparent, and member-focused service delivery.
CBT was apprised that the first pilot of Centralized Pension Payment System (CPPS) was successfully completed in October, 2024 in Karnal, Jammu and Srinagar. The second pilot was taken up in November, 2024 in 20 additional Regional Offices in which Rs. 195 crore have already been disbursed for 8.3 lakh pensioners.
CPPS is set to be implemented as part of the EPFO’s IT modernization project, CITES 2.01, with a target operational date of January 1, 2025. It will benefit more than 78 lakh EPS pensioners of EPFO which includes streamlined pension disbursement across India, allowing pensioners to access their pension from any bank or branch nationwide, expediting claim processing and eliminating the need for bank visits for verifications or undertaking submissions.
CBT ratified the extension of EDLI benefits vide GSR 299(E) dated 28.04.2021 with retrospective effect from 28.04.2024. This will provide a minimum benefit of Rs.2.5 lakhs and maximum benefit of up to Rs. 7 lakhs. The proposal, supported by actuarial valuation indicating a surplus of Rs. 6,385.74 crore has been approved to ensure uninterrupted benefits to EPF members.
The Board approved the 71st Annual Report of EPFO for the year 2023-24 with recommendation to place before the Parliament through the Central Government.
