EPS Member Status: How to check your EPS membership status to receive higher pension

Many employees who have been working from before 2014 may be wondering if they are eligible to opt for higher pension from the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS). A Supreme Court judgment has clarified that if an individual was a member of the EPS on September 1, 2014, then he/she is eligible to opt for higher pension under the EPS (although EPFO has placed some caveats). However, not many individuals may be sure about their membership of EPS on September 1, 2014.

To know this status, individuals can check their service history on the EPFO’s Member e-Sewa portal. However, one must ensure that the details on the EPFO portal are correct and updated. This is because a Universal Account Number (UAN) was introduced in 2014. The 12-digit UAN remains constant even if employees have moved jobs, unlike the provident fund account numbers that are allotted to individuals every time they join an organisation. It is possible that an individual might have left an organisation before the UAN was introduced; in which case the EPFO records would not be updated with the years of service and the UAN.

Also Read: EPFO issues guidelines for higher pension from EPS: Know where, how to apply

Anshul Prakash, Partner, Employment Labour & Benefits, Khaitan & Co, says, “The eligibility criterion (that of an employee’s membership with the EPS scheme as on September 1, 2014) shall need to be assessed by the individual concerned by accessing his profile from the member’s portal of EPFO (by logging in using his credentials such as the UAN). The member’s profile shall reflect his date of enrolment as a member of the EPS scheme. As an alternative to this, the employee may also enquire with the jurisdictional provident fund office regarding his membership status in the EPS scheme as on September 1, 2014.”

Here is a step-by-step guide to check an individual’s service history and date of joining on the EPFO portal.
Step 1: Visit member e-Sewa portal https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/
Step 2: Login by entering the Universal Account Number (UAN), password and captcha.
Step 3: Once logged in, click on the “View” option and select “Service history” option.

The ‘Service history’ option will show a list of the organisations where the individual has worked. Check the DOJ or date of joining an organisation.

If the portal shows a DOJ as before September 1, 2014, then the individual is eligible to apply for the higher pension. If the individual has moved to another organisation after this date, they will still be eligible to opt for the higher pension as long as the pension account was maintained with the EPFO.

Also Read: Eligible employees who missed higher EPS pension option earlier can still apply: Latest EPFO circular

However, if the date of joining is on or after September 1, 2014, the individual may not be eligible to apply for the higher pension under EPS except in the case of a prior service history not being updated on the portal. You may have the obtain the proof of your prior service history and contribution from employer and submit it to EPFO to update your service history.

The other necessary condition for eligibility for higher pension is that member and employer should have contributed a higher EPF amount on wages above the prevailing wage ceiling of Rs 5000 prior to May 31, 2001 or 6500 prior to September 1 2014.

Do note that as long as the individual had an unsettled EPS account (With some balance) on September 1, 2014, with proof of prior higher contribution towards EPF than the prevailing wage ceiling he/she is eligible to opt for the higher pension under EPS.

How employees can apply for higher pension from EPS
The EPFO issued two circulars – on December 29, 2022, and February 20, 2023 – providing instructions on how eligible employees and pensioners can submit their applications for the higher pension.

The EPFO has already provided an online facility to eligible pensioners to submit their documents and submit the applications.

For other eligible employees who were members of the EPS on September 1, 2014, the EPFO issued the guidelines on February 20, 2023. However, the EPFO is yet to open the online portal for this category of individuals.

Prakash says, “It is also important to note that the EPFO has not extended this facility to those members who had exercised their option for higher pension benefits under the erstwhile provisions under EPS but failed to do so in the 6-month timeline set out under the amended EPS regime. In other words, under this circular, only those employees are covered who (a) were members as of September 1, 2014, and (b) never exercised their option for higher pension benefits, whether under the erstwhile EPS regime or under the amended EPS regime.”

The last date to submit the application for the higher pension under the EPS is March 3, 2023.