Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation seems to be denying over 11 lakh requests for higher pensions which has just bewildered millions of employees and pensioners. As of July 16, 2025, 98.5 percent of the 15.24 lakh applications had been processed with only 4 lakh approved, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s orders. High rejection rates have raised several eye brows in many parts of the country, especially in Chennai. This article analyses the reason, regional impacts, and next course of action for affected applicants.
Background Of Higher Pension Scheme
An EPFO circular stopped monthly pensions calculating actual salaries above ₹15,000 at the end of 2014; in essence, it gave an upper hand to the higher pension rates. The Supreme Court, by its judgment on November 4, 2022, has made it clear that employees enrolled in EPF before September 1, 2014, and who are either working or retired after this date, can claim the benefit of pension as per their actual salaries. EPFO consequently opened an online portal on February 26, 2023, for the receipt of such applications and a last date of June 26, 2023, was fixed by a later order for the receipt of applications. This, however, did not yield less than a 72% rejection rate.
Around 11,01,582 applications were rejected out of 15.24 lakh, while 4,00,573 were approved, and 21,995 remained pending for processing. The highest rejection rate was reported from Chennai and Puducherry, where 63,026 of 72,040 applications were rejected. Common grounds for application rejections included incomplete KYC details, discrepancy in bank details, Aadhaar being not linked with Universal Account Numbers (UAN), unclear signatures on the application, or reasons under EPFO rules like no employer’s approval for withdrawal applications or inadequate service record. On the other hand, rejection without clear reasons has added to the frustration.
Grounds for Application Rejection
The strictness in the verification method by the EPFO(as imposed by the Supreme Court) led to rejection due to:
- Incomplete Documentation: Name, date of birth, or Aadhaar details mismatching.
- Employer Non-Compliance: Not submitting wage details or approving applications.
- Technical: Service records not matching or withdrawal norms not accepted.EPFO, in its May 2025 audit, termed as “arbitrary rejections” after picking up minor deficiencies and requested better employer awareness. However, no provision exists for the reconsideration of decisions, further compounding the uncertainty faced by rejected applicants.
Financial And Social Impacts
Myriad cases have been subjected to rejections; among them are retirees, who seek to help finance their security by means of higher pensions amid 5.2% inflation in 2024. Demand letters were issued to approved applicants to deposit the balance contributions, and a total of 74,811 pensioners and 41,285 active members complied. The alleged contra of higher pensions, amounting to about ₹1.86 lakh crore, have posed doubts about EPFO’s fund sustainability, though critics feel these figures have been pumped by the fund to validate the denial of payments.
Next Steps For Applicants
Affected applicants should:
- Use UAN to check the application status on epfindia.gov.in.
- Check with employers to ensure that the wage and contribution records are correctly maintained.
- File themselves grievances or ensure parties considered have filed grievances through the Grievance Management System of the EPFO or Regional Offices.
- In case of no satisfaction, take legal recourse by means of filing any number of Letters under RTI in order to seek clarity.
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