Is the monthly pension paid under EPS just?

The government has fixed the monthly pension benefit at 1,000 INR from the financial year 2014-15. Those who started job after 1 Sep 2014 and earning more than 15,000  INR in basic and DA will not be contributing to the Pension Scheme. Before Sep 1, 2014, it was Based on a maximum employment period of 35 years, and a maximum contribution of Rs 6500, the maximum amount of pension as per the Pension formula would be = 6500 * 35)/70 = Rs 3,250 per month or  Rs. 39,000(3250 * 12) per year. Our article How to calculate your pension under EPS will explain the same in detail

  • Maximum Pension one can get is 7,500 INR per month.
  • Minimum Pension one can get is 1,000 INR per month.

Is the Monthly Pension paid under EPS just?

The amount of pension is meager. If one would have invested 541 INR in a Debt Mutual Fund at the rate of 8% for 35 years one would get 12,49,263 as maturity amount. If this maturity amount is put in buying the Pension plan and put the above amount 12,49,263 INR in the premium calculator of LIC with an option as Annuity payable for life, one would get a monthly pension of 10,150 INR which is much more than 3250 INR.

Step by Step Process for EPF withdrawal

Broadly, withdrawal of EPF can be done either by:

  1. Submission of a physical application for withdrawal
  2. Submission of an online application

1. Submission of a physical application

For this, one can download the new composite claim (Aadhar)/ composite claim form (Non-Aadhar) from here :

EPFO Portal

The new composite claim form (Aadhar) can be filled and submitted to the respective jurisdictional EPFO office without the attestation of the employer whereas, the new composite claim form (Non-aadhaar) shall be filled and submitted with the attestation of the employer to the respective jurisdictional EPFO office. One may also note, that in case of partial withdrawal of EPF amount by an employee for various circumstances as discussed in the above table, very recently, the requirement to furnish various certificates has been done away with and the option of self-certification has been introduced for the EPF subscribers.

2. Submission of an online application

Interestingly, the EPFO has very recently come up with the online facility of withdrawal which has rendered the entire process easier and less time-consuming.

Prerequisite: To apply for withdrawal of EPF online through EPF Portal, make sure that the following conditions are met:

  1. UAN (Universal Account Number) is activated and the mobile number used for activating the UAN is in working condition
  2. UAN is linked with your KYC i.e. Aadhaar, PAN and bank details along with the IFSC code.

If the above conditions are met, then the requirement of an attestation of the previous employer to carry out the process of withdrawal can be done away with.

Steps to apply for EPF withdrawal online:

Step 1: Go to the UAN portal by clicking here  Step 2: Login with your UAN and password and enter the captcha.UAN Login

Step 3: Then, click on the tab ‘Manage’ and select KYC to check whether your KYC details such as Aadhaar, PAN and bank details are correct and verified or not.PF KYC

Step 4: After the KYC details are verified, go to the tab Online Services’ and select the option ‘Claim’ from the drop-down menu.PF Claim

 

Step 5:  The ‘Claim’ screen will display the member details, KYC details, and other service details. Click on the tab ‘Proceed For Online Claim’ to submit your claim form. Step 6:  In the claim form, select the claim you require i.e full EPF Settlement, EPF Part withdrawal (loan/advance) or pension withdrawal, under the tab ‘I Want To Apply For’. If the member is not eligible for any of the services like PF withdrawal or pension withdrawal, due to the service criteria, then that option will not be shown in the drop-down menu.

PF Withdrawal

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When can you withdraw your EPF?

Under what situations can you withdraw the EPF

One may choose to withdraw EPF completely or partially. EPF can be completely withdrawn under any of the following circumstances:
a. When an individual retires from employment
b. When an individual remains unemployed for a period of 2 months or more. Here, it needs a mention that the fact that the individual is unemployed for more than 2 months has to be certified by a gazetted officer. Further, complete withdrawal of EPF while switching over from one job to another without remaining unemployed for 2 months or more(i.e. During the interim period between changing jobs), will be against the PF rules and regulations and therefore illegal. Partial withdrawal of EPF can be done under certain circumstances and subject to certain prescribed conditions which have been discussed in brief below:

Sl No Particulars of the reason for withdrawal Limit for withdrawal No of years of service criteria Other conditions
1 Marriage Up to 50% of employee’s share of contribution to EPF 7 years For the marriage of self, son/daughter, brother/sister
2 Education Up to 50% of employee’s share of contribution to EPF 7 years For the education of either himself or his children after class 10
3 Purchase of land/purchase or construction of a house For land – up to 24 times of monthly wages plus Dearness allowance

For house – up to 36 times of monthly wages plus Dearness allowance

5 years The asset i.e. land or the house should be in the name of the employee or spouse or Jointly.
4 Home loan repayment Up to a maximum of 90 %, from both employee’s contribution and employer contribution in Employee Provident Fund. 10 years i. The property should be registered in the name of the employee or spouse or jointly

ii. Withdrawal permitted subject to furnishing of requisite documents as called for by the EPFO relating to the housing loan availed,

iii. The accumulation in the member's PF account (or together with the spouse), including the interest, has to be more than Rs 20,000.

5 Renovation of house Up to 12 times of the monthly wages 5 years The property should be registered in the name of the employee or spouse or jointly.
6 A little before retirement Up to 90% of accumulated balance with interest Once he reaches 57 years ( as per recent amendment) For himself
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NPS Forms

NPS Withdrawal Forms

The Indian government has separated all NPS Withdrawal Forms into the employees of the government or subscribers belonging to corporates.

Withdrawal Forms pertaining to Government employees

  • Form 101GS - Employees in government service can avail of this form should they choose to withdraw their accumulated pension following their retirement
  • Form 102GP - Employees in government service can avail of this form should they choose to withdraw their accumulated pension before their time of retirement
  • Form 103GD - Nominees or any legal heir of an employee with the government, who is a part of the NPS, can avail of this form in order to claim the pension accumulated in the account of the subscriber.

Withdrawal Forms pertaining to Corporate Subscribers

  • Form 301 - Corporate employees, as well as other individuals and citizens who opt for withdrawal of their total accumulated pension following retirement, can use this form
  • Form 302 - Corporate employees as well as other individuals and citizens who opt for withdrawal of their total accumulated pension before retirement can use this form
  • Form 303 - Nominees or any legal heir of a corporate employee can avail of this form in order to claim the pension accumulated in the account of the subscriber.

Withdrawal forms for Claimants on the death of Subscriber

There are separate forms which a nominee/legal heir is expected to submit in the event of the death of subscriber. The following forms can be used for this purpose.

  • Form 103 GD – NPS withdrawal form can be used by a nominee/legal heir of a government employee who is covered under the National Pension Scheme. The nominee can fill this form to claim the amount in the account of a subscriber.
  • Form 303 - This form can be used by a nominee/legal heir of a corporate employee/regular citizen enrolled under the National Pension Scheme. The nominee can fill this form to claim the amount in the account of a subscriber.
  • Form 503 - This form can be used by a nominee/legal heir of an individual covered under the Swavalamban Sector. The nominee can fill this form to claim the amount in the account of a subscriber.

Documents to be submitted with forms

A subscriber/nominee who wishes to withdraw money from his/her account needs to submit the following documents with the relevant form.

  • Original PRAN card. In the event of the original PRAN card being lost/stolen, an individual should submit a notarized affidavit stating reasons for non-availability of this card.
  • Valid address and ID proof of subscriber.
  • A canceled cheque with the name, bank account number and IFSC code of subscriber. In the subscriber/nominee wishes to do an online transfer then he/she should give a bank certificate containing relevant details.
  • Age proof of subscriber – this could be a valid government ID card or matriculation certificate.
  • A death certificate is required if a nominee is claiming the amount on account of the death of a subscriber.
  • A nominee/legal heir should submit proof of their nomination if they are claiming the amount on account of the death of a subscriber.
  • Address and ID proof of nominee – A nominee/legal heir should provide their address and ID proof before they can claim the amount on behalf of a dead subscriber.
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NPS Withdrawal Rules

National Pension Scheme (NPS) is the retirement pension product introduced by the government for all resident individuals. It became a very famous product due to the additional tax benefit that one gets on making these investments.

The features of NPS and how should one invest in NPS is discussed in our Article. Here, we have listed when and how can you withdraw the money invested into NPS and how the same should be managed.

Basic Withdrawal Rules:

There are majorly 2 types of NPS

  1. NPS tier 1 – the contributions made in tier 1 NPS have restrictions on withdrawal.
  2. NPS tier 2 – it is more like a savings account, there is no restriction on withdrawal.

Tier-I comes with partial withdrawal options, subject to conditions.

  • For those looking to exit before turning 60, there is an option to withdraw 20% of the accumulated savings but have to buy an annuity with the remaining 80%.
  • When you attain the age of 60, you have to invest at least 40% in an annuity with IRDA and can withdraw only up to 60 percent of the corpus.
  • The nominee can withdraw the full amount only after the death of the subscriber.

There are a few amendments which were made in the NPS withdrawal specifying the conditions where one can withdraw a part of their NPS balance and when.

You can withdraw 25% accumulated corpus

You are allowed to withdraw 25% of the accumulated corpus at any time (but excluding contributions made by the employer), as on the date of application of withdrawal.

There are a few conditions to do the same:

  • The subscriber must be in the National Pension System for at least 3 years.
  • The subscriber can withdraw a maximum of 25% of the contributions made by him and standing to his credit in his individual pension account, as on the date of the application for withdrawal.
  • The subscriber is allowed to withdraw only a maximum of 3 times during the entire tenure of subscription.
  • You must submit this withdrawal request in the specified form along with necessary documents to the central record keeping agency or the National Pension System Trust, as may be specified, for processing of such withdrawal claim.
  • If subscriber suffering from diseases, then a family member can submit the application.
  • For Tier II account, one can withdraw either partial or full amount available in this without any condition.

Purpose of withdrawal

You are not allowed to withdraw the NPS corpus as per your wish. There are certain purposes set by PFRDA. They are as below.

  • For higher education of your children including a legally adopted child (or) for self.
  • Individual NPS subscribers who wish to set up a new business or acquire a new business will also be allowed to make partial withdrawals from his contributions.
  • For the marriage of your children, including a legally adopted child
  • You can make a partial withdrawal for the purchase or construction of a residential house or flat in your name or in a joint name of your spouse. In case, you already own a residential house or flat (either individually or in the joint name), other than an ancestral property, no withdrawal under these regulations shall be permitted.
  • If you /your spouse, children, including legally adopted child or dependent parents suffer from any specified illness, a partial withdrawal request can be submitted by you or any of your family members. (Specified illness – which shall comprise of hospitalization and treatment in respect of the following disease) :
  1. Cancer;
  2. Kidney Failure (End Stage Renal Failure);
  3. Primary Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension;
  4. Multiple Sclerosis;
  5. Major Organ Transplant;
  6. Coronary Artery Bypass Graft;
  7. Aorta Graft Surgery;
  8. Heart Valve Surgery;
  9. Stroke;
  10. Myocardial Infarction;
  11. Coma;
  12. Total blindness;
  13. Paralysis;
  14. An accident of serious/ life-threatening nature.
  15. Any other critical illness of a life-threatening nature as stipulated in the circulars, guidelines or notifications issued by the Authority from time to time.
  • Such advance withdrawal will not attract any taxation. Hence, there is no tax liability for such advance withdrawal.

You can hold and contribute to NPS corpus even after your retirement up to the age of 70 Yrs.

Where you wish to continue to contribute to your NPS even after your retirement (i.e. age of 60 or after superannuation), you must give the same in writing in the prescribed form.

Such option can be exercised at least 15 days prior to the age of attaining 60 years or the age of superannuation, as the case may be to the central recordkeeping agency or the National Pension System Trust or any other intermediary or entity authorized by the Authority for the purpose.

If you not exercised the option within the period of 15 days, so stipulated, but desires to continue with his individual pension account under National Pension System, beyond the age of 60 years or the age of superannuation, as the case may be, and to the extent so permitted, may do so by making an application in writing with reasons for such delay to the National Pension System Trust, within 185 days of attaining such age or superannuation.

State and Central Government Employees NPS corpus may withhold the NPS withdrawal to recover any dues from an employee

If you are an employee of State or Central Government and if there any dues pending by you to be payable to your employer, then your employer may withhold the NPS withdrawal to recover such dues.

However, such authority is available only for Tier 1 accumulated corpus but not for Tier 2 accumulated corpus.

The pension wealth which is payable under the National Pension System will not be paid to the employer until the conclusion of the departmental or judicial proceedings, as the case may be and subject to the final orders, passed in such proceedings.

Who provides Annuity on withdrawal or maturity under NPS?

An annuity is a series of payments made at successive periods (intervals) of time. For NPS it is bought at withdrawal or on reaching 60 years in Tier 1 Account. ASPs would be responsible for delivering a regular monthly pension on exit from the NPS. The Annuity Service Providers empaneled by PFRDA for subscribers of NPS are as under:

  1. Life Insurance Corporation of India
  2. SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
  3. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
  4. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
  5. Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
  6. Reliance Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

We have listed all the forms required for NPS withdrawal in our Article - Click here to read more.

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NPS - National Pension Scheme - Things to Note

After the budget of 2017, every other person was trying to invest in this new product NPS to save further tax of INR. 50,000. Being a more conservative investor,  I asked around a few people to understand what is this NPS and is tax benefit the only reason to invest in it. Actually, by now I should stop being surprised by the lack of research from people around me. 8 out of 10 people, I knew had invested their money into NPS without knowing all the basic details about it.

What is a Pension Scheme?

NPS is a pension scheme, but what is a pension scheme. Is it Insurance? Is it a mutual fund? What is it? A pension plan is a financial product that ensures a fixed regular income after you retire for a fixed period of time. You invest your money in pension regularly/lump sum till you retire and post-retirement the same corpus is returned to you at regular intervals.

What is NPS?

NPS is the government approved pension plan. It is managed by PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority). This product helps you to create retirement corpus.

Any citizen of India (whether resident or NRI) can invest in this scheme. The age of the subscriber must be within 18-60 years of age. However, an individual of unsound mind or existing members of NPS are not allowed to open a new account.

Therefore, an individual can open only ONE NPS account.

NPS subscribers are issued with a Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN), which remains unchanged throughout the length of the scheme.

Structure of NPS

Before getting into the details of withdrawals, the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 and how the investments made in NPS is managed. It is important to understand the nature of the product.

  1. There are two types of account/ methods of NPS investments with different benefits and features.
  2. As an individual, a regular fixed sum or otherwise is invested by you in the NPS
  3. An equal contribution may (like EPF) or may not be made by your employer.
  4. The entire fund collected is managed by fund managers appointed by PFRDA which invests this pool of fund into various investment products over the period of time.
  5. A fee of 0.25% is deducted from your investment as a fund management fees.
  6. You cannot withdraw the money from NPS as and when you need the money, there are restrictions and limitations on the same.
  7. After retirement, you can withdraw a part as a lump sum; balance would be received as a monthly pension. To do so, one has to buy an annuity plan.
  8. There are No ASSURED RETURN IN NPS (like in EPF there is a fixed return of 8% -12%)

Types of NPS

There are majorly 2 types of NPS

  1. NPS tier 1 – the contributions made in tier 1 NPS have restrictions on withdrawal.
  2. NPS tier 2 – it is more like a savings account, there is no restriction on withdrawal.
  3. Swavalamban scheme or the NPS Lite - was a financial inclusion scheme for the economically backward sections of the society. It was applicable to all employees in the unorganized sector of employment. For Swavalamban accounts, a government made contributions of Rs.1000 for the first four years after enrollment. Swavalamban Yojna is replaced by Atal Pension Yojna.

How to open an NPS account?

  • Fill the application form.
  • Provide the relevant KYC documents at your nearest POP-PS (You will find the list in PFRDA portal) to open a Permanent retirement account (PRA)
  • If you want to open new Tier 2 account, then the process is different. You have to approach POP-PS with a copy of PRAN (Permanent Retirement Account Number) and Tier 2 activation form.
  • The subscriber has to make the first contribution while opening the account.
  • The minimum contribution for Tier 1 is Rs.500 and Rs.1, 000 for Tier 2.

You can also enroll into the NPS online through enps.nsdl.com. You can do so either by using your Aadhar number or through your PAN number and online banking (your bank account and PAN number must be linked) if your bank is enrolled with the NPS. You can check this on enps.nsdl.com.

Note-Now you can open NPS account online and also contribution can be made online through e-NPS portal.

What are the investment options and how should you go about it?

The NPS fund is invested into various investment products and is split into the three asset classes as below:

  • Class E: made in equity market instruments.
  • Class C: made in fixed income investment instruments. These investments do not include government securities.
  • Class G: made in government securities.

The NPS offers two choices: Active and Auto.

You may choose and change into either of the two. However, such a switch is only allowed once a year.

  • Active: Under this option, you can actively choose and change your investment amount in either of E, C, and G class. However, please note that you cannot have more than 50% under class E i.e. Equity Instruments.
  • Auto: The Auto choice offers a life-cycle fund, which decides the investment allocation depending on the age of the individual. The allocation to equity and fixed income comes down and the proportion of government securities in the portfolio goes up with the advancing age of the subscriber.
  • At the lowest age of entry (18 years), the auto choice will entail an investment of 50% of pension wealth in “E” Class, 30% in “C” Class and 20% in “G” Class.
  • These ratios of investment will remain fixed for all contributions until the participant reaches the age of 36.
  • From age 36 onwards, the weight in “E” and “C” asset class will decrease annually and the weight in “G” class will increase annually till it reaches 10% in “E”, 10% in “C” and 80% in “G” class at age 55.

Thus, you have to select whether you want an active or an auto option. Well where you select for auto, there is not much you have to do on the investment product side as the same is taken care of. In the case of active, you have to decide how much % of your investment has to go into which asset class.

After selecting the method of investment, you also have to select the fund which will manage your investment.

  • The accounts of government employees are managed by one of the three government fund managers, LIC Pension Plan, SBI Pension Plan and UTI Retirement Solutions,
  • Accounts of others are managed by one of the six fund managers: ICICI Prudential Pension, IDFC Pension, Kotak Mahindra Pension, Reliance Capital Pension, SBI Pension Funds and UTI Retirement Solutions.

What are the charges and fees associated with the National Pension Scheme?

Investors have to pay handling and administrative charges, fund management fees. The fund management fee is 0.0102% for Government employees and 0.25% of the invested amount for the private sector.

Difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 Investments

After getting a brief idea on the basic of NPS, it is important to know what is tier 1 and tier 2 investments and why do we even have the choice of these 2.

Features Tier 1 Tier 2
Mandatory for NPS Yes No
Requirements to open Any individual Only those with Tier 1
Minimum contributions per annum INR 1000 (by non-government employees) INR 1000 at the time of account opening
10% of basic + DA  with matching from the government (by a government employee)
Minimum amount per contribution INR 500 Nil
Minimum balance at the end of the accounting year NA NA
Bank Account Not mandatory Mandatory
Tax benefits for the investments made and the maturity amount Refer Article - Click here No tax benefits
Withdrawal

 

If the subscriber fails to contribute the minimum amount in a year, the account will become dormant. The subscriber will have to submit the form UOS-S10 to the POP-PS, along with a penalty of R100 and a minimum contribution of INR 500, to reactivate the account. The dormant account will be closed if the account value falls to zero.

Withdrawal/ Exit Rules for NPS

You cannot withdraw the money from Tier 1 account as and when you want to do the same.  It is a pension/retirement plan, thus, there are restrictions on withdrawal from NPS.

  • If you are withdrawing the money at your retirement at 60 years, you have the option to withdraw 40 per cent of the accumulated corpus tax-free.
  • At least 40 per cent of the accumulated corpus must be used to buy an annuity.
  • The remaining 20 per cent can be either withdrawn (it will be taxed as per the Income Tax slab applicable to the subscriber) or use it to buy an annuity.
  • The pension derived from the annuity will be taxed as income.
  • If the total corpus is below R2 lakh, it can be withdrawn entirely.
  • While exiting from the NPS before 60 years, one can withdraw only 20 percent of the corpus as a lump sum and one must use 80 percent of the corpus to buy an annuity.

An example of NPS Investment

Harsh makes a monthly contribution of INR 2000 to NPS which he started at the age of 30 and continued to do so till the age of 60. Assuming that he earned a return of 9% on average over the 30 years (the return in NPS is not fixed or assured).

Harsh will have a corpus of approximately 36.8. at the end of 30 years.

Out of this, 40% i.e. INR 14.72 lakhs can be withdrawn tax free. Balance 60% i.e. 22.08 would be used to buy an annuity product based on his requirements.

NPS may seem a bit complicated due to the fuss created around the product and its features. The cost and the initial tax benefit at the time of investments definitely make it a lucrative retirement product. You as an investor need not invest INR 50,000 per annum just to claim the tax benefits but it is that SIP, you know you will and you cannot ever withdraw.

 

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UAN - Universal Account Number - Things to note

What is UAN?

The UAN or the Universal Account number is a 12 digit unique number allotted to each member of the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) which helps them to manage their EPF account.

The UAN will be associated with an employee and will connect all his PF (Provident Fund) accounts across organizations.

This number is issued by the Ministry of Labor and Employment, Government of India.

If an individual changes his job, he will get a new PF account with the organization. This way, multiple PF account numbers will be allotted to an employee. Multiple PF account numbers is an area of concern as many employees report grievances related to transfer and withdrawal of PF amount. To counter this problem and to make the management of provident fund accounts easier, the concept of UAN was introduced The UAN is a single account number that will connect the multiple IDs associated with an employer. With UAN, an employee can connect all his EPFO accounts to make the process of PF withdrawal and transfer easier.

Advantages of UAN

Once you have the UAN number and you register it then you can check many details. Benefit Of Registration of UAN  at UAN Member e-Sewa Portal are as follows:

  • You can download the updated EPF passbook. The passbook will tell you the EPF balance broken into Employee Contribution(EE) and Employer Contribution (ER). Also deduction for Employee Pension Scheme (EPS). Sample passbook is shown below.
  • You can link your previous PF accounts (before Oct 2014) which are not linked to UAN number.
  • All you have to do to bring your PF accounts together is give your UAN to current employer. After KYC verification, you will be able to view and manage all accounts.
  • You will get notifications on your mobile every time your employer makes a monthly deposit in your PF account.
  • You will know about all the movements in your PF account and thus, your employer cannot dominate the same anymore.
  • You can verify your transfer claims on EPFO web portal by mentioning your UAN.
  • You can change the mobile number and email address.

Read about the step by step process of opening your UAN account in the next article.

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Basics of Employee Pension Scheme (EPS)

We have discussed the basic contributions of EPF and how the money is invested, contributed and received by the employees. There is a component called EPS (employee pension scheme) and as per the law, a fixed amount or % of the employer’s contribution goes towards EPS which works as a retirement pension corpus for the employees.

While reading about EPF, I realized that EPS is more detailed than I had imagined and it has implications on the financial decisions of each employee. At the outset, it is a very good scheme, each month 8.33% of the basic pay is contributed towards EPS and on retirement, one gets the money back as a pension. Thus, the EPS part of your EPF works like an annuity plan.

Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS)

  • Employees are automatically enrolled in the EPS Scheme only if they are members of the EPF scheme.
  • EPS is financed by diverting 8.33% of employer’s monthly contribution from the EPF. Monthly contribution to EPS is restricted to 8.33% of Rs. 15,000 i.e. Rs. 1250.
  • Unlike the EPF contribution EPS, the part does NOT get any interest.
  • The fraction of service for six months or more shall be treated as one year and the service less than six months shall be ignored. So 9 years and 6 months will be rounded up to 10 years.
  • The lifelong pension is available to the member and upon his death members of the family are entitled for the balance pension.
  • Pension received is lifelong and passes on to spouse and two children upon the employee’s death
  • Employees can receive only pension from EPS and are eligible only after completion of 10 years of service and must have attained the age of 50 years for early pension and 58 years for regular pension
  • No pension is payable before the age of 50 years.
  • The maximum Pension per month is subject to a maximum of Rs 3,250 per month.
  • Maximum service for the calculation of service is 35 years.
  • No pensioner can receive more than one EPF Pension.

When can Employee Avail the Pension

Unlike EPF, EPS cannot be withdrawn at any point of career. There are only specific cases where the same will be receivable:

  • Through Superannuation, where he/she has completed 10 years of service and is above 58 years and can continue to work. No fresh EPF will be made in his/her name.
  • Early pension, when completed 10 years of service, between 50 to 58 years and is not working anymore.
  • Unfit to perform the job or permanent disability

Transfer of EPS on Transfer of EPF from one company to another. 

  • When the employee switches jobs, the EPF gets transferred to the new employer, but not the EPS.
  • When the employee switches jobs, the EPS amount or carries it forward to the next job. This, however, depends on the length of his service and his age.
  • If EPF gets transferred the EPS also gets transferred. However, the UAN passbook shows amount as 0.
  • While transferring PF from one establishment to another, the service details, information (like the length of service, non-contributory period, last wages drawn are furnished to the receiving PF office in Annexure K which will be used to calculate the pension benefits. AMOUNT IN PENSION FUND IS NOT REQ”.

Claiming Pension Money

  • If you have scheme certificate of pension

Once the employee crosses the age of 50, he or she is entitled to get pension by Scheme Certificate. The employee is required to fill Form 10-D to avail regular pension. If the employee has more than one Scheme Certificate, he or she can directly go to the EPF office. This requires attestation of the employee’s Form 10-D by the bank manager.

  • If you don’t have scheme certificate of pension

In case an employee has not completed 9.5 years of service, you must claim a pension refund. In order to do, you have to fill Form 10-C along with EPF Withdrawal form and submit it through your employer.

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Forms of EPS

There are various forms that need to be submitted to avail different benefits under Employee Pension Scheme. They are:

Form name Filled by Benefit
Form 10C Beneficiary or member ·        Withdrawal benefit

·        Scheme Certificate

Form 10D Member ·        To avail pension after 58 years of age

·        To avail pension before 58 years but after turning 50

·        To avail disability pension

Form 10D Nominee or widow/widower or Children ·        To avail nominee or dependant pension

·        To avail family pension

·        To avail children or orphan pension

Life Certificate Pensioner ·        To be submitted by pension beneficiary or children every November

·        To be submitted to the manager of the pension disbursing banks

Non-remarriage Certificate Widower/widow ·           To be submitted by widower every year

·           To be submitted by the widow at the beginning of pension

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House Rent Allowance (HRA)

House Rent Allowance is a component of the salary provided by the employer to his/her employee. If you receive HRA as part of your salary and you live in a rented accommodation, then you can claim full or partial HRA exemption u/s 10. However, HRA is fully taxable if you don’t live in a rented accommodation. How to calculate HRA? Your HRA depends upon the following 4 factors. They are:
  • Salary
  • HRA component
  • Rent Paid
  • Location of your rented house
Tax exemption on HRA is least of the following: 1) Actual HRA received 2) Actual rent paid reduced by 10% of salary 3) 50% of basic salary if the taxpayer is living in a metro city 4) 40% of basic salary if the taxpayer is living in a non-metro city Since the least of the above is exempt from tax, you can ask your employer to restructure your salary to get maximum tax benefit.
                                                                                                  Pay rent and save taxes
What if my employer does not provide me with the HRA? If you are making payments towards rent for any furnished or unfurnished residential accommodation occupied by you, but do not receive HRA from your employer, you can still claim the deduction and that would be under Section 80GG. Conditions that must be fulfilled to claim this deduction:
  1. You should be self-employed or salaried
  2. You have not received HRA at any time during the year for which you are claiming 80GG
  3. You or your spouse or your minor child or HUF of which you are a member – do not own any residential accommodation at the place where you currently reside, perform duties of office, or employment or carry on business or profession.
In case you own any residential property at any place other than the place mentioned above, then you should not claim the benefit of that property as self-occupied. That other property would be deemed to be let out in order to claim the deduction under section 80GG. Refer our Articles on Income from house property where we have discussed this in detail. As per section 80GG of the Act, the least of the following will be considered as tax-free:
  1. Rs 5,000 per month;
  2. 25% of adjusted total income*;
  3. Actual Rent less 10% of adjusted total Income*
*Adjusted Total Income means Total Income Less long-term capital gain, short-term capital gain under section 111A and Income under section 115A or 115D and deductions 80C to 80U (except deduction under section 80GG). How to Claim HRA When Living With Parents? Where you are staying in your parents’ house and your parents are owner of the same, you can still claim the HRA. You can pay the rent to your parents and claim the allowance provided. You will have to enter into a rent agreement with your parents, provide their PAN card to your employer, also generate rent receipts. In this case, please note that the rent amount that you showing as payment to your parents will be taxed as rental income in their hands. Is my landlord's PAN mandatory to claim HRA? Yes, it is where your annual rent crosses 1 lakh INR. If your landlord does not have a PAN, then you (as the employee) have to obtain the declaration to this effect from the landlord along with  the name and address of the landlord. A Format of Deceleration May be as follows :- Date To Name & Address DECLARATION I ____________(Full name and address of the declarant) aged ____ do hereby declare that I have leased the Flat No._______________________________ From 1st April’2018 to 31st March’2019 to ___________( Name of lessor) at a monthly rent of  Rs. _______/- ( __________________ only). Further I do hereby declare that my total income during the financial year 2018-2019 did not exceed the statutory  limit prescribed under Income tax Act,1962 and have not assessed to tax and does not have a PAN card . Verification I,_________________ do hereby declare that what is stated above is true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Verified today, the _____________ day of _________________
Date : ________________Place : ________________ (Name of the declarant)
HRA is one of the most common component of a salary structure and hence, you must claim the same where you are staying on rent. If you are not staying on rent and living with your parents, it is important you analyse the overall family's taxability before declaring that you are paying rent to your parents.

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