Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has completed the processing of 15.24 lakh applications for higher pension entitlements, following a landmark Supreme Court ruling dated November 4, 2022.
As of July 16, 2025, the EPFO has processed 98.5% of these claims, but the outcome has sparked widespread concern: over 11 lakh applications were rejected, while just 4 lakh were approved.
The Supreme Court had clarified that EPF members enrolled before September 1, 2014, and either still in service or retired thereafter, were eligible to opt for pensions based on their actual salaries, rather than the capped wage ceiling.
This ruling was expected to benefit thousands of employees who had contributed to the pension scheme based on higher earnings4.
Background: Wage Ceiling and Eligibility Confusion
In 2014, the EPFO made changes to the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS).
One of the key amendments was an increase in the pensionable salary cap from ₹6,500 to ₹15,000 per month.
While the amendment allowed employees and employers to contribute 8.33% of actual salaries above the cap, it required opting in within a six-month window.
Many employees missed this deadline due to lack of awareness or procedural delays.
This led to years of litigation, culminating in the Supreme Court’s 2022 judgment, which reopened the window for eligible employees to apply for higher pension benefits.
The EPFO then invited applications and began processing them in early 2023.
EPFO Higher Pension Claims Rejection Rate Raises Questions
Of the 15.24 lakh applications, 11,01,582 were rejected, representing a rejection rate of over 72%.
The Chennai and Puducherry region saw particularly high denial rates, with 63,026 out of 72,040 applications turned down.
So far, 4,00,573 demand letters have been issued to applicants confirming eligibility, while 21,995 applications remain under review.
Despite the scale of rejections, the government has not provided detailed reasons for the denials.
Common issues in EPFO claim rejections typically include:
- Incomplete or mismatched KYC details
- Incorrect bank information
- Non-linking of UAN with Aadhaar
- Employer contributions not updated or joint option not approved
- Technical errors during submission
However, it remains unclear how many of these factors contributed to the current rejection wave.
Applicant Uncertainty and Lack of Clarity
The absence of a clear resolution timeline and detailed rejection explanations has left many applicants uncertain about their pension entitlements.
EPFO has stated that applicants whose claims were rejected might be given a chance to correct mistakes or provide missing documentation.
However, it has yet to introduce an official process for doing so.
Questions raised in Parliament have sought clarity on the government’s awareness of the high rejection rate and its plans to expedite pending cases.
Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, confirmed the number of claims processed by the EPFO.
However, she did not provide any explanation for the high rejection rate or clarify the future course of action.
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