Families of the 4.7 crore organised sector workers covered under the Employees? Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) could get as much as 66% more insurance benefits in the event of the breadwinner?s death. The government is considering a proposal to hike the insurance benefits received by a worker?s dependents under a little-known Employees? Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme of 1976, run by the EPFO.
The benefits under the scheme, for which employers contribute 0.5% of employees? salary, are currently capped at a ceiling of Rs 60,000. Central Provident Fund commissioner K Chandramauli is learnt to have approached the labour ministry to raise the ceiling to Rs 1,00,000.
Trade union leaders have been asking for a revision of the benefits under the scheme for a few years now as the annual contributions into the scheme have been much higher than the claims settled. For instance, in 2008-09, the scheme received Rs 368.4 crore in contributions from firms, but it settled only 20,455 claims amounting to a mere Rs 48.63 crore.
EDLI benefits are linked to a worker?s PF account balance at the time of death. If the balance is less than Rs 35,000, then dependents are paid the average balance in previous 12 months. For accounts with more than Rs 35,000 accumulations, dependents are paid Rs 35,000 plus 25% of the PF account balance over Rs 35,000?subject to a ceiling of Rs 60,000. ?We have been pleading for an increase in the benefits under the EDLI scheme. In 2007, the EPF authorities had said that an actuary had been appointed to assess the scheme?s viability before its benefits are increased. In the board meeting on Saturday, when I enquired about the present status, the CPFC informed us that EPFO has already proposed a hike in the benefit ceiling from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1,00,000,? AD Nagpal, member of EPFO?s Central board of Trustees, told FE.
However, it?s unlikely that the proposed hike in ceiling would be enough. The life insurance industry has been luring many companies out of the EDLI net in recent years, offering benefits as high as Rs 2.5 lakh for the same contribution that employers pay to EPFO. Apart from a contribution of 0.5% of basic pay, employers also pay EPFO an administrative charge for EDLI @0.01% of their total salary bill.
Insurance firms pitching group-term insurance policies for a company?s workforce, point out that the EDLI coverage is very low if a worker?s service tenure or salary is less. Moreover, the minimum benefit of Rs 3,000 and the maximum of Rs 60,000 is hardly adequate for a scheme which has a total corpus of Rs 7,155 crore.
Offering firms a minimum benefit of Rs 10,000 and a maximum of Rs 2.5 lakh, with accident benefits thrown in and the promise of faster claim servicing than EPFO, insurance firms have dented EDLI?s coverage. In 2007-08, as many as 549 firms sought the EPFO?s permission to move out of the EDLI after proving that the benefits they were proposing were better. Another 653 companies got permission to exit the EDLI in 2008-09.