There is great news for retired employees covered under the pension scheme of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). Now retired employees will be able to get pension from any bank or its branch from January. This information has been given by the Ministry of Labor. Labor Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has approved the proposal for a centralized pension payment system (CPPS) for the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) 1995. The centralized pension payment system will allow the distribution of pension through any bank or any branch across the country. Let us tell you that the chairperson of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the top decision-making body of EPFO, is also the chairperson.
what did the labor minister say
Mansukh Mandaviya said- The approval of the centralized pension payment system is a milestone in the direction of modernization of the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). Under this, pensioners will be able to receive their pension from any bank, any branch anywhere in the country. This initiative solves the long-standing problems of pensioners. This system ensures a seamless and efficient distribution system.
Mansukh Mandaviya said that this is an important step towards our efforts to transform EPFO into a more robust, responsive and tech-enabled organization to better serve the needs of its members and pensioners.
More than 78 lakh pensioners benefited
The centralized pension payment system is expected to benefit over 78 lakh EPS-95 pensioners of EPFO. The centralized system will ensure seamless disbursement of pension across the country without the need to transfer Pension Payment Order (PPO) from one office to another. This will be a big relief for pensioners who move to their hometown after retirement. This facility will be launched from January 1, 2025 as part of EPFO’s ongoing information technology modernization project Centralized IT Enabled System (CITES 2.01).
Change is important
According to the ministry, the new system is a significant change from the existing pension disbursement process, under which each regional/zonal office of EPFO had to enter into separate agreements with only three-four banks. It said that now pensioners will not need to visit the bank branch for verification at the time of pension commencement and the payment will be credited immediately upon release. Along with this, EPFO expects that the new system will significantly reduce pension disbursement costs.
