Personal Finance News
EPFO Pension on Higher Wages: Over 11 lakh applications rejected. How many have been cleared?
4 min read | Updated on July 22, 2025, 16:30 IST
SUMMARY
The Supreme Court in its 2022 judgement allowed eligible members who missed the previous deadline to apply for Pension on Higher Wages (PoHW). Out of the 15.24 lakh applications that were received in this regard, the EPFO has processed over 98.5% of them, and demand letters have been issued to more than 4 lakh eligible applicants.
In August 2014, the cap on pensionable salary was raised to ₹15,000 per month.
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Monday, July 21, said it has processed over 98.5% of as many as 15,24,150 applications for pension on higher wages received as of July 16, 2025.
"EPFO has processed and disposed of applications for pension on higher wages as per the directions of the Supreme Court in its judgement dated Nov. 4, 2022. As on July 16, 2025, more than 98.5% applications have been disposed off by EPFO," Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shobha Karandlaje said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
As per the reply, out of the 15,24,150 applications, 4,00,573 demand letters were issued to applicants eligible for pension on higher wages and 11,01,582 were rejected. Further, 21,995 applications are pending, the reply showed.
What is ‘pension on higher wages’?
Under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), both employees and employers contribute a part of the employee’s salary towards pension. Until 2014, there was a cap on pensionable salary at ₹6,500 per month, even if an employee earned more.
A pensionable salary is the average basic salary of an employee for 5 years from the date of retirement (after exiting EPS). The average is used to calculate the employee's pension benefits under the EPS.
In August 2014, this cap was raised to ₹15,000 per month. Further, employees and employers were given a chance to contribute 8.33% of their actual salary (even if it exceeded the cap) towards EPF, but only if they opted in within six months.
Many employees ended up missing the deadline due to many reasons, including unawareness. In its 2022 judgement, the Supreme Court upheld the 2014 Amendment with increased cap and opt-in requirement, but also allowed eligible employees to apply for higher pension for four months from the judgement date with these conditions:
Employees must be an EPS member as of September 1, 2014. They must have contributed a full salary earlier and their employer had done the same thing.
Here is a state/zone-wise disposal of PoHW (Pension on Higher Wages) applications as on July 16, 2025:
| Zonal Office | Total Applications Received | Demand Letters Issued | Rejected Applications | Pending Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANDHRA PRADESH (VIJAYWADA) | 56,799 | 25,964 | 30,093 | 742 |
| BENGALURU (BENGALURU) | 1,09,305 | 10,136 | 98,915 | 254 |
| BIHAR & JHARKHAND (PATNA) | 29,943 | 8,713 | 20,876 | 354 |
| CHENNAI & PUDUCHERRY (CHENNAI) | 72,040 | 7,622 | 63,026 | 1,392 |
| DELHI, UTTARAKHAND & JAMMU | 95,418 | 28,939 | 63,602 | 2,877 |
| GUJARAT (AHMEDABAD) | 96,846 | 4,799 | 91,965 | 82 |
| HARYANA | 31,738 | 12,880 | 18,853 | 5 |
| KARNATAKA (EXCL. BENGALURU) & GOA (HUBLI) | 91,699 | 11,623 | 79,363 | 713 |
| KERALA & LAKSHADWEEP (THIRUVANANTHAPURAM) | 81,662 | 43,176 | 36,178 | 2,308 |
| MADHYA PRADESH & CHHATTISGARH (BHOPAL) | 67,605 | 19,125 | 47,507 | 973 |
| MAHARASHTRA (EXCL. MUMBAI) (PUNE) | 1,26,305 | 6,113 | 1,19,382 | 810 |
| MUMBAI-1 (BANDRA) | 1,26,441 | 5,842 | 1,19,957 | 642 |
| MUMBAI-2 (THANE) | 28,984 | 4,182 | 23,707 | 1,095 |
| NORTH-EASTERN REGION (GUWAHATI) | 10,927 | 6,653 | 4,269 | 5 |
| ORISSA (BHUBANESWAR) | 49,234 | 20,180 | 26,503 | 2,551 |
| PUNJAB & HIMACHAL PRADESH | 44,946 | 26,558 | 14,991 | 3,397 |
| RAJASTHAN | 38,785 | 8,251 | 30,500 | 34 |
| TAMIL NADU (EXCL. CHENNAI) | 77,106 | 17,747 | 59,181 | 178 |
| TELANGANA (HYDERABAD) | 1,65,335 | 83,733 | 78,902 | 2,700 |
| UTTAR PRADESH | 65,179 | 19,120 | 45,948 | 111 |
| WB, A&N ISLANDS & SIKKIM (KOLKATA) | 57,853 | 29,217 | 27,864 | 772 |
| Total | 15,24,150 | 4,00,573 | 11,01,582 | 21,995 |
The EPFO, as of July 16, 2025, has received 15.24 applications from employees seeking pension on higher wages and 98.5% of them have been processed. Moreover, 21,995 applications are pending with the retirement fund organisation.
Related News
By signing up you agree to Upstox’s Terms & Conditions
About The Author
Next Story
