EPFO Glitch Leaves Applicants In Lurch As Higher Pension Deadline Nears

Pestering technical issues on the EPFO portal have put scores of applicants for higher pensions in a fix. They have been rushing to complete their registration process as the deadline ends on June 26, 2023.

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) recently extended the deadline to accommodate the large number of applicants applying for higher pensions at the last moment.

However, many applicants have reportedly complained about the persistent technical issues and snags on the unified EPFO portal delaying their application submission process. Meanwhile, several employers have requested a deadline extension or simplification of the process for the ease of applicants.

The suggestions come as many people are still unclear about the registration procedure and the technical issues further complicating or delaying the process.

Some problems they have been facing include payment and calculation related and resolving discrepancies between wage records with EPFO and the employer. Given these issues, some experts expect the EPFO to give another deadline extension to resolve these confusions.

Expressing their difficulties in applying for higher pensions on Twitter, many EPFO members wrote about the technical issues they have been facing, mainly related to submitting applications.

A Twitter user @neerajkbanand wrote: “How can we calculate additional amount to be paid from EPFO corpus for higher pension under EPS for which date has been extended till 26th June'23? Is there any official calculator available? Need urgent assistance.”

Another user with the Twitter handle @amruta2403 wrote: “Hi Sir, I am unable to register for this join option for higher pension. Even though all my details are present in EPFO and have joined job before 2014, I am in job since 2006. I took a break in 2018 and now in job. But ERR_ASE00:Error: Input values/Database fields are not matched,” referring to the website error.

Deadline Extension

EPFO has extended the deadline for higher pension applications several times since the last cut-off date on March 4, 2023. On February 20, it issued a detailed guideline on who can apply for the Employees’ Pension (Amendment) Scheme, 2014. Following a Supreme Court directive, the EPFO created a unified members’ portal (for the employee and the employer) to receive applications for higher pensions.

While hearing a special leave petition on November 4, 2022, the apex court asked the EPFO to consider new joint declaration applications as directed in para 44(iii) & (iv) of its judgement.

The 2014 amendment gives EPS members six months, as on September 1, 2014, to apply for the amended scheme, which is extendable by another six months. Also, members who opted for the scheme exceeding the wage ceiling must contribute an extra 1.16 per cent towards the fund.

However, some employees approached the court for relief, citing scant information about the deadline to opt for the amended scheme.