It is not possible to provide minimum monthly pension of Rs 3,000 under
the Employees' Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS-95), run by retirement fund body EPFO,
Parliament was informed today.
"The EPS, 1995 being a contributory scheme, obligations of all
payments are met from the assets of the fund. The higher level of minimum
pension of at Rs 3,000 is not possible without compromising the financial
viability of the scheme," Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said in a
written reply to Rajya Sabha.
In a separate reply, the Minister said "providing a minimum
pension of Rs 3,000 to lakhs of existing pensioners and crores of prospective
pensioners has very huge financial implications and could jeopardize the
existence of the pension fund itself."
The Minister added: "If the government's share is increased from
1.16 per cent to 8.33 per cent, as recommended by the Committee, it would
involve a substantial increase in the financial burden. It was estimated to
involve Rs 16,417 crore for the year 2013-2014 to implement this
recommendation."
According to the reply, the 147th Report of the Committee on Petitions,
Rajya Sabha had recommended increasing the government's share of contribution
to EPS-95 from 1.16 per cent of the basic wages to 8.33 per cent to support the
minimum pension level of Rs 3,000 per month.
The Minister informed the House that EPFO is providing Rs 1,000 minimum
monthly pension under the scheme since September 1, 2014. It is benefiting
around 20 lakh pensioners.
There are around 47 lakh pensioners under the scheme run by the
Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
Source:-The Economic Times
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