On 4 November 2022, the Supreme Court of India passed a landmark judgement which upholds the right of certain categories of employees to opt for higher pension by contributing to the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) on higher/ uncapped salary. As things stand today, EPS benefits and contributions are capped to a statutory threshold of INR 15,000 per month, which currently translates to a relatively low and insignificant pension. However, the recent judgement offers eligible employees an option to contribute on uncapped salary, and subsequently earn higher pension. The higher EPS contribution will be redirected from the employer share of EPF contribution, which will lead to a lower EPF (lump sum) accumulation.
In this connection, the EPFO has issued a circular on 20 February 2023, where they have instructed field officers to prepare for the implementation of the directions of the Supreme Court judgement. This is a complicated topic, and while more information is awaited from EPFO, it is important that employers understand the implications of this option, enabling them to communicate and successfully implement this option.
Given this background, WTW conducted a webinar on 1 March 2023 which covered:
The webinar was led by Ritobrata Sarkar, Head of Retirement, Jehangir Damkevala, Associate Director – Retirement and Divya Dadlani, Consulting Actuary from WTW.
Please fill the form below to watch the webinar replay and download presentation slides.
Access the on-demand webinar and presentation