EPS 95, or Employee Pension Scheme 1995, is a social security scheme that was launched by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation on November 19th 1995. This scheme provides pension benefits after retirement to employees working in the organised sector. EPFO administers the system and assures that employees who have reached the age of 58 will receive a pension.
The benefits of this scheme are available to both existing as well as new EPF members. Both the contracting parties, which include the employee and employer, contribute 12% of the employee’s wage, including the basic salary and dearness allowance (DA), to the EPF. Every month, an employee’s entire contribution is made to the EPF. On the other hand, 8.33% of the employer’s contribution goes to the Employees’ Pension Scheme, and the remaining 3.67% goes to the Employees’ Provident Fund.
EPS 95 Minimum Pension
No matter how much you contribute towards the Employee Pension Scheme, there is a minimum range of pensions set by the Government of India. Employees will receive this amount irrespective of how much you contribute.
Under this scheme, the government offers a fixed minimum pension ranging from Rs.1,000 to Rs.2,000 monthly to pensioners. This was started by the government on September 1st, 2014, along with providing additional budgetary support to the EPF scheme.
Other than the contribution of the employee and employer, the Government offers budgetary support of 1.16% of the wages of each employee to the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme. This added support from the Government will be up to a maximum of Rs.15,000 every month.
EPS 95 Pension Latest News
As per a press release issued on May 3rd, 2023, by the Ministry of Labour & Employment, employees opting for a higher EPS pension will not have to contribute to it. The additional 1.16% of the salary they would have to pay from above the wage ceiling will now be drawn from the 12% of the employer’s contribution. This decision has been taken as per the announcement of the Supreme Court to devise a replacement methodology.
Along with this, the deadline to apply for a higher pension has been extended to June 26th 2023. According to the current pension calculation method under EPS 95, your pension will depend on the total length of service and average basic salary in the last 5 years. Therefore, the longer your service period, the more you will benefit from the pension rule.
EPS 95 Pension Eligibility
In order to opt for the benefits of EPS 95, you need to fulfil the following eligibility criteria:
- You need to be a member of the EPFO.
- You need to serve a minimum of 10 years in the service.
- The retirement age for a regular pension is 58 years. If you retire earlier, you can also get a pension at a reduced rate.
- In case you are willing to receive your pension from the age of 60, you will get an additional 4% every year.
- If you have not completed 10 years of service, but more than 6 months, then you are eligible to withdraw your EPS amount if you are unemployed for more than 2 months.
- In case an employee becomes disabled totally as well as permanently, then he/she would be eligible for a monthly pension. He/she will receive a monthly pension even if they have not served for the pensionable service period. However, the employee has to undergo a medical test to confirm whether they are unfit for fulfilling the job role due to their disability.
- Family members of an employee also might be eligible for pension benefits in case the employee passes away while in service.
EPS 95 Pension Rules
Following is a list of rules in relation to the Employee Pension Scheme 95:
- Employees who earn Rs.15,000 or less every month need to mandatorily enrol under this scheme.
- The employer needs to contribute within 15 days of the closing of every month.
- If after the death of an employee, their widow or widower remarries, then the children will receive the pension.
- Contribution made by the employee contains components of basic salary, dearness allowance, admissible cash value of food concessions and retaining allowance.
- In case you wish to transfer EPS online, you can do so using a composite claim form.
- A family member of the EPFO member can avail the benefit of EPS by submitting a number of forms. Form 10C is for withdrawal before the completion of 10 years of service. In case of monthly pension withdrawal after the age of 50 years, a member needs to fill up Form 10D. To declare that the widow has not remarried, one needs to get a Non-Remarriage certificate. A life certificate is needed so as to certify that the employee is alive.
- In order to check the amount accumulated in the EPS account, you can check the EPF passbook. You can download it from the EPF passbook portal. The last column of the passbook will show the monthly contribution to the account.
- In case you are switching jobs, you need to fill up Form 11 as well as Form 13 and submit them. However, in case you have an existing Universal Account Number (UAN) and you have used Aadhaar as your KYC in the EPF database, submitting only Form 11 will do. Form 11 certifies that you are a member of the EPF scheme, while Form 13 is used to move your PF balance from your previous company to the new one.
How Is EPS 95 Pension Calculated?
The monthly pension amount an employee receives depends on the pensionable service of the employee and pensionable salary.
Here is the formula for calculating any member employee’s monthly pension income:
Member’s Monthly Pension = (Pensionable salary x Pensionable Service)/70
- Pensionable Salary
It is the average monthly salary that an employee receives in the last 60 months before they decide to exit the Employees’ Pension Scheme. This is as per the judgement of the Supreme Court on November 4th 2022. Earlier, it was the average monthly salary of the last 12 months of the employee’s participation in the scheme.
- Pensionable Service
This refers to the total number of years for which contributions were made to the EPS account. According to the law, pensionable service must be rounded off to the nearest year. This means that in case you serve for 6 months or more, then it will be treated as a year. If it is less than 6 months, the year will not be counted. If you superannuate at the age of 58 years and have served for more than 20 years, then your service tenure will be increased by 2 years.
Benefits Of EPS 95 Pension
Employees who are eligible for EPS pension can avail a number of benefits. Let us take a look at them:
- Pension From the Age of 58
An EPS member becomes eligible for a pension from the age of 58 as soon as they retire. However, to become eligible for getting a pension, they need to compulsorily contribute for 10 years before turning 58. After retirement, they will receive an EPS pension scheme certificate. This certificate is a must for filling up form 10D to withdraw monthly pension.
- Pension in Case of Disability
In case a member of EPS becomes disabled completely as well as permanently, then they will receive a monthly pension. This is irrespective of whether they have served for the pensionable period or not. This member will receive a pension starting from the date of permanent disability and for their entire life.
The employer must deposit funds in this person’s EPS account for at least a month to become eligible for a pension. However, the employee will have to undergo a medical test to prove the fact that they are unfit for the job that they did before becoming disabled.
- Pension in Case of Employee’s Death
An EPS member’s family will receive family pension benefits in case of death of the employee under 3 circumstances:
- If a member completes 10 years of service and dies before the age of 58 years.
- In case a member dies after they start receiving a monthly pension.
- If a member dies while still serving and the employer has at least once deposited funds into their EPS account.
- Withdrawal Facility Before Becoming Eligible for Monthly Pension
In case a member of EPS is unable to remain in service for 10 years due to some reason and reaches the age of 58, they can withdraw the entire some they have invested by filling up form 10C. However, in this case, they will not receive any monthly pension.
EPS Eligible service calculation
If an employee has worked for six months or more, his or her service tenure is counted as one year. The working length will not be taken into account if the service period is less than 6 months. As a result, if an employee has worked for ten years and seven months, the number of years of service will be calculated as eleven. However, if a person has worked for ten years and five months, the number of years of service is ten.
Contribution towards Employee Pension Scheme
The employer and employee contribute 12% of the employee’s basic salary and DA towards the EPF scheme. The 12% contribution made by the employer is split in the below-mentioned ways:
Apart from the above-mentioned contributions, the Government of India contributes 1.16% as well. Employees are not eligible to contribute to the scheme.
Process to check EPS balance
The Universal Account Number can be used to check the EPS balance on the EPFO portal (UAN). Individuals must first finish the UAN activation process.
The step-by-step procedure to check the EPF balance after the activation of UAN is complete is mentioned below:
Step 1: You must visit the official website of EPFO (https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/index.php).
Step 2: Click on ‘For Employees‘ under the ‘Our Services‘ menu.
Step 3: Click on ‘Member Passbook‘ on the next page.
Step 4: Next, enter the User Name (UAN), password, and captcha details. Click on ‘Login‘.
Step 5: On the next page, various Member IDs will be displayed. Click on the respective Member ID.
Step 6: The total pension amount that has been contributed will be displayed under ‘Pension Contribution‘ column.
Step 7: You will be able to download and take a print out of the statement as well.
Process to calculate monthly Pension
Calculation of monthly pension falls into the 2 categories that are mentioned below:
Pension calculation for individuals who have joined after 16 November 1995.
The process for the calculation of EPS for the 2 categories are mentioned below:
Calculation of pension if the individual has joined before 16 November 1995:
In case individuals have joined the organisation before 16 November 1995, the amount of pension they receive is fixed and it is based on their salary. Given in the table below is the break-up of the pension amount that an individual will receive:
| Number of years of service (years) | Pension Amount (In case the salary is Rs.2,500 or less) | Pension Amount (In case the salary is more than Rs.2,500) |
| 10 | Rs.80 | Rs.85 |
| 11-15 | Rs.95 | Rs.105 |
| 15-20 | Rs.120 | Rs.135 |
| More than 20 | Rs.150 | Rs.170 |
Calculation of Pension in case the individual has joined after 16 November 1995:
The below-mentioned formula must be used for the calculation of pension in case the individual has joined after 16 November 1995:
EPS = (Service Period x Pensionable Salary)/70
Calculation of Pensionable Salary is based on the average income an individual has made over the last 5 years.
EPS Withdrawal
- If an individual has worked for less than 10 years
If a person has not completed 10 years of service, he or she will be eligible to withdraw the EPS amount. If the employee is currently employed and has not completed ten years of service, he or she will not be eligible to take EPS funds. The EPS amount can only be withdrawn once the employee has left the company and before starting a new job.
He/she can claim Form 10C on the EPFO portal to withdraw the EPS amount. To withdraw the EPS amount online, the employee must have an active UAN and the KYC details must be linked to the UAN.
Individuals who have worked for less than six months may apply for a scheme certificate, but they will not be allowed to withdraw EPS due to EPFO regulations. Only a portion of the EPS amount can be taken depending on the number of years an individual has worked.
- If an individual has worked for more than 10 years
EPS withdrawal benefits will be stopped if the employee has completed more than 10 years of service. However, by filling Form 10C, the employee will be able to apply for a scheme certificate.
EPS forms
There are different EPS forms that are available
| Form | Who can use it? | Purpose |
| Form 10C | Member/Beneficiary | EPS Scheme CertificateTo withdraw the pension amount before completion of 10 years of service. |
| Life Certificate | Pensioner | The pensioner must sign this form stating that he/she is alive.Must be submitted to bank manager where the pension funds are received every November. |
| Form 10D | Member/Nominee/Widow/Widower/Children | Withdrawal of pension once the member attains the age of 50 years.Monthly child pension, widow pension, etc. |
| Non-Remarriage Certificate | Widow/Widower | The form is used to certify that the widower/widow has not remarried.The form must be submitted by November on a yearly basis. |
| New Form 11 | Member | Must be used by the member to furnish bank and Aadhaar details. Once the UAN has been activated, a cheque must be provided with the name, IFSC code, and account number mentioned on it. |
What is the procedure to check your EPS Amount
Given below are the steps you will have to follow to check the amount available in your EPS account:
- Visit the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization’s (EPFO) official website at https://www.epfindia.gov.in/.
- Click the ‘For Employees’ link on the homepage’s ‘Our Services’ section.
- Go to ‘Services’ and choose ‘Member Passbook.’
- A redirect to the Unified Member Portal will take place. Use your password, Universal Account Number (UAN), and captcha code to log in.
- You will be taken to the Member Passbook page after logging in. You can examine the specifics of your EPF (Employee Provident Fund) account here.
- The “Pension Contribution” component can be found by scrolling down. Your EPS contributions and the total amount will be described in full in this section.
- You can examine the balance in your EPS account as well as the donations made to it.
Points to remember about EPS Pension
Before contributing to your EPS account, there are certain points you must remember about EPS pension. They are given below:
- The employer must make all contributions to the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) account.
- Basic salary plus a dearness allowance, a retention allowance, and the allowable cash worth of food concessions make up the employee’s remuneration.
- The employer is required to cover all applicable contribution costs.
- 8.33% of the employee’s salary is contributed by the employer to EPS.
- The employer is required to contribute within 15 days of each month’s end.
- For the purpose of receiving pension benefits, a minimum of 10 years of service are required.
- All workers who are employed by the major employer, whether directly or through a contractor, are required to make contributions.
- The plan stipulates that a person must be 58 years old to retire.
- After turning 58 years or when they begin receiving a reduced pension at age 50 years, an employee no longer qualifies as a member of the pension fund.
- You may withdraw the EPS amount after being out of work for more than two months if you have fewer than ten years of service but more than six months of service.
EPF pension calculator Excel Download
Is there any difference between EPS 95 and NPS pension schemes?
EPS 95 is extended for the employees who is a Employee’s Provident Fund(EPF) Account Holders, however NPS is a voluntary scheme the employee’s can invest in. Both the schemes provide retirement benefit for the employees.
Is there a minimum limit for pension in EPFO ?
Yes, Rs. 1000 is to be provided as minimum pension by the government to the pensioners.
What is the difference between EPF and EPS?
EPF does not pay pension if there is no contribution by the employee and the employer. However, EPS pays pension even without contribution.
What is the salary limit for the EPS 95?
Rs. 15,000 is the salary limit for EPS 95.
What is the formula for calculating EPF pension?
This calculation is determined by using the formula: (Pensionable Salary X Pensionable Service)/70 = (15,000 x 35)/70 = Rs 7,500. In order to qualify for pension benefits, EPF subscribers must have served for at least 10 years and retire after reaching the age of 58.