No hard ceilings: On the revision to EPFO wage ceiling

The Union Cabinet’s approval to raise the wage ceiling for mandatory coverage under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000, though belated, is commendable. The BJP-led government has finally responded to this long-standing demand of workers in the organised sector. Around 51 lakh additional employees may be brought under the PF fold, which has around 7.98 crore contributing members. Those in the wage slab of ₹15,000-₹25,000 will now be covered under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 2026. Although Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya cited a government survey as the basis for the increase, the 12-year delay in implementing it should have been avoided. The Minister, who said that the average salary in private establishments was ₹23,000, should also make the survey’s findings public for a better understanding of the country’s overall wage situation. With some concerns having been raised that not every employer may be willing to make the additional contributions required after the revision, the government must ensure that all employers comply with the law.

So far, the government has been silent on revising the EPS minimum pension of ₹1,000, fixed in September 2014 alongside the previous revision in the PF wage ceiling. EPFO pensioners have been demanding the hike in the minimum pension amount. Before it assumed office at the Centre in 2014, the BJP had urged the Congress-led UPA government to keep the minimum pension at ₹3,000 and index it to inflation. Yet, it has not made even a symbolic beginning towards the indexation of pension to inflation. Moreover, about 45% of the nearly 82 lakh pensioners receive ₹1,000 or less. In March 2026, the Joint Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour reminded the government that “the existing minimum pension amount is inadequate to meet even the basic needs of pensioners particularly in the … scenario marked by … rising healthcare and living expenses”. Also, little is known about the follow-up to the panel’s recommendation for “an urgent and comprehensive review of the minimum pension”. The EPFO must release the findings of actuarial assessment, made by valuers in recent years. This should also be beneficial to the PF body, as EPFO CEO Ramesh Krishnamurthi observed in an interview with The Hindu in August that “there is a misconception that the [pension] fund has unlimited resources”, while ruling out the reopening of the window for higher pensions. Even if the government is unwilling to restore the pre-2014 coverage, under which all employees were covered regardless of their wages, it should consider relaxation of the restriction on the coverage. Else, many pensioners will be pushed below the poverty line.