More than two years after the Supreme Court’s ruling on higher Provident Fund (PF) pensions, Kerala continues to face significant delays and uncertainties in its implementation. Out of 17.49 lakh applicants from the state, a staggering 7.35 lakh have been deemed ineligible. Additionally, employers have failed to submit 2.24 lakh applications for additional contributions required for higher pensions to the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
The Employees Pension Scheme (EPS) under Section 16-A mandates that pension benefits should not be denied due to employer negligence. However, the fate of many applications remains unclear, with 3.92 lakh applications returned to employers for clarification and 2.14 lakh still under EPFO review.
Kerala lags behind in processing joint option applications, having settled only 27.35% of the 72,712 applications received, compared to the national average of 59%. However, the state performs slightly better in the validation stage, achieving 70% completion against the national average of 78%.
Key reasons for delays include unclear processing methods, the need to calculate salary details spanning up to 348 months, discrepancies in records, and verification challenges for employees who have worked across multiple establishments. Rejections are primarily due to applicants falling outside the Supreme Court verdict’s scope, retired employees not opting for higher pensions before September 1, 2014, and failure to submit specified amounts in demand letters.
Despite these hurdles, 24,006 beneficiaries are already receiving higher pensions, with 9,529 likely to join soon. However, the path to resolving the remaining cases remains fraught with challenges.
