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Labour Law
3 min. Read
|Jan 7, 2026 6:53 PM

Supreme Court Pushes for EPF Wage Ceiling Hike

Sahiba Sharma
By Sahiba Sharma
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Supreme Court of India has directed the Union Government to consider a formal revision of the wage ceiling for the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme.

On January 5, 2026, a Bench comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar ordered the Centre and the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to take a decisive call on the matter within four months.

The current wage ceiling for the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) scheme stands at ₹15,000 per month.

This limit has remained unchanged for over 11 years, leading to what petitioners describe as the “systematic exclusion” of millions of workers from essential retirement benefits.

Introduction: Addressing the 11-Year Stagnation

The Supreme Court’s intervention comes following a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by academician and activist Dr. Naveen Prakash Nautiyal.

The petition highlighted that the existing threshold of ₹15,000 is “arbitrary and irrational” in the current economic climate.

Since the last revision in September 2014, India has seen substantial inflation, a rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and significant growth in per capita income.

The Court observed that the issue requires “active consideration” to ensure that the EPF scheme—a social welfare measure—fulfills its legislative intent of providing security to the organized sector workforce rather than becoming a restrictive framework.

The “EPF Minimum Wage” Anomaly and Worker Exclusion

A primary argument presented by advocates Pranav Sachdeva and Neha Rathi was the growing disparity between the EPF ceiling and statutory minimum wages.

In several states, the government-notified minimum wages already exceed the ₹15,000 limit.

  • The Exclusion Trap: Currently, any employee starting a job with a basic salary above ₹15,000 is automatically excluded from the mandatory EPF and Pension (EPS) umbrella.
  • The “Shift to Exclusionary”: The petition argued that while the scheme was inclusive during its first 30 years, it has become increasingly exclusionary over the past three decades.
  • Impact on Coverage: Raising the wage ceiling to ₹21,000 or ₹25,000 could significantly expand India’s social security net. Estimates suggest that this change would bring over 1 crore additional workers under mandatory EPF and pension coverage.

Pending Recommendations and Government Delay

The Court was informed that the government’s own advisory bodies have previously supported a hike.

In July 2022, the EPFO’s Central Board of Trustees (CBT) approved recommendations from a sub-committee to enhance the wage ceiling.

The Central Board of Trustees approved these recommendations in July 2022.

Despite this and similar observations by the Public Accounts Committee of the 16th Lok Sabha, the Central Government had not acted on the proposals until this judicial nudge.

The Bench has now permitted the petitioner to file a detailed representation within two weeks.

Furthermore, it has mandated the Centre to process this request and reach a final decision by May 2026.

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