There was a long-standing confusion and waiting among EPFO members regarding pension on higher wages. But now in response to the question asked in Parliament, the government has clarified the latest situation on this issue.
Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje told the Lok Sabha on 21 July 2025 that as per the Supreme Court order of November 4, 2022, the EPFO has so far disposed off 98.5% of the total 15.24 lakh applications.
What is the matter of pension on higher salary?
There has been a controversy in the EPFO scheme for years whether employees can avail pension on the basis of their actual (i.e. higher) salary or not. In 2014, the EPFO issued a circular saying that such options would be available only to those who had opted during service and their salary was above the maximum limit of Rs 15,000 at that time.
The matter went to the Supreme Court, and on November 4, 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that all those employees who were members of the EPF before September 1, 2014, and were still working or had retired after that date, were eligible to opt for a higher pension based on their actual salary, provided they exercised a joint option with their employer. The EPFO was directed to review all such cases and take a decision.
What did the government tell in Parliament?
In the Lok Sabha, Adoor Prakash asked following questions related to pension on higher wages:
(a) Is the government aware that a large number of applications have been made for pension on higher wages which have been rejected by the EPFO?
(b) If yes, what is the information and reasons for such cases?
(c) How many applications have been received, accepted, rejected and pending state-wise?
(d) Is the government making any immediate plan to settle the pending applications quickly?
(e) If yes, what are the details and if not, what are the reasons?
Responding to all these questions, the Minister of State for Labor said that EPFO processed all the applications for pension on higher wages as per the order of the Supreme Court and so far 98.5% of the applications have been settled.
Details (as on 16th July 2025):
Total applications received: 15,24,150
Demand letters issued for acceptance: 4,00,573
Applications rejected: 11,01,582
Applications pending: 21,995
The rejection rate is quite high in some regions. For example, in the Chennai and Puducherry region, 63,026 out of 72,040 applications were rejected.
What next?
The government did not explain the main reasons behind the rejected applications, but it is clear that the EPFO has reviewed these applications under a comprehensive process. The number of pending applications is only 1.5% of the total, which is likely to be planned to be resolved soon, even though the government has not given any direct timeline on this.