EPS claim settlement time 2026: Pension paid in 20 days, says govt; lists reasons for delays

Pension claims under the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) are settled and paid within 20 days as , the Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Shobha Karandlaje said in a written reply to a query in the Lok Sabha on Monday, March 9, 2026.

“With regard to settlement timelines, the scheme provides that claim application, complete in all respect along with requisite documents, shall be settled and claim amount paid within twenty days,” the minister said.

However, she added that when the claim is not found complete in all aspects along with requisite documents, the settlement time can increase on account of extra time taken in getting the requisites completed.

Reasons for EPS claim rejection

According to the minister, the rejection of pension claims generally occurs due to the following reasons:

• Incomplete or incorrect claim forms.

• Non-availability or mismatch of member data (date of birth, date of exit, service details, Aadhaar, bank details etc.).

• Non-submission of requisite documents in death cases (e.g., death certificate, succession/legal heir documents).

• Contribution-related discrepancies.

The chances of rejection can reduce by submitting e-nomination and family details online.

“In order to reduce the rejection on account of above, EPFO is emphasizing on submission of e-nomination and family details online, for all members,” the minister said,

“As a result, the rejection ratio of pension claims under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 has shown a consistent declining trend over the last five years,” she added.

Steps taken to reduce downtime of EPFO website

The minister also replied to a query on “whether the Government is aware that the downtime for the Employees Provident Fund Organization's (EPFO) website is very high, thereby causing difficulties in accessing online services and if so, the reasons therefor”

“New servers and storage systems have been installed to replace outdated end of support life equipment. The system capacity has been increased to handle higher loads. New routers, switches, enhanced bandwidth and load balancers have also been set up to improve speed and efficiency of services. Core applications have been moved to the upgraded system,” the minister said.

“Advanced security systems have been put in place, including next-generation firewalls, access control tools, and systems to monitor database and security incidents. A dedicated team has been deployed to run the Security Operations Center. Through these measures, EPFO has improved system efficiency, enhanced the ease of doing business for employers and ease of living for members & pensioners,” she added.