Pension update: EPFO extends deadline till Jan 31 for details for pension on higher wages

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has extended the deadline for employers to upload wage details for pension on higher wages in accordance with a Supreme Court order dated 04.11.2022.

The EPFO has provided an online facility for submitting applications for validation of options/joint options for pension on higher wages. The online facility was launched on February 26, 2023, with an initial deadline of May 3, 2023.

However, due to employee representations, the deadline was extended to June 26, 2023, allowing eligible pensioners/members a full four months to file their applications. Accordingly, the last date for submission of Applications for Validation of Option / Joint Options by employees was extended to 11.07.2023 and a total of 17.49 lakh Applications for Validation of Option / Joint Options were received from pensioners/members till 11.07.2023.

Since then, the deadline has been extended multiple times in response to requests from Employers and employers’ Associations. Employers were given additional opportunities to submit wage details online. The government agency has observed that despite numerous extensions, there are still over 310,000 pending applications for Validation of Options / Joint Options with employers.

Additionally, the agency has received multiple requests from Employers & Employers’ Associations for additional time to upload wage details of pensioners/members.

"In view of representations received from Employers & Employers’ Associations wherein requests were made to extend the time period for uploading wage details of applicant pensioners/members, the employers were given multiple opportunities to submit wage details etc. to ensure that employers are able to process the applications. Therefore, a final opportunity is being given to the employers till 31.01.2025 to ensure that employers process and upload these pending Applications for Validation of Option / Joint Options," the EPFO said in a statement issued on Wednesday.