Provident Fund Secrets

1) Your PF entitles you to pension too

Despite the popularity of the EPF as a saving tool, not many people are enthused by or even aware of the Employees’ Pension Scheme. Introduced in 1995, it is funded by diverting 8.3%, or a little more than a third of your PF contribution. The pension on retirement is linked to the number of years in service and the average salary drawn in the year before retirement.

However, the scheme has failed to draw the EPFO’s 5 crore members because of the measly payouts associated with it. The reason is that since most employers pay PF only on the mandatory salary cap of Rs 6,500 per month, the pension income for a majority of workers is abysmally low, at times, less than Rs 1,000 a month.

It is, however, possible to get a higher pension income. “Good employers like Infosys pay Provident Fund contributions on the entire basic salaries,” says SC Chatterjee, the Central PF Commissioner. “If your basic pay is Rs 30,000 a month, employers can invest 24% of this amount into your PF account. “You will be entitled to a pension on the basis of your actual basic pay rather than Rs 6,500,” he adds.

For salaries up to Rs 6,500, the government also chips in with a subsidy of Rs 75. This added up to Rs 994 crore for all EPF members in 2009-10. Another way smart employers help boost the pension is by raising the worker’s salary in the last year of employment.

“Suppose I earn Rs 25,000 and contribute 8.33% towards EPS. However, on my 57th birthday, my employer can raise my salary to Rs 1 lakh. Since my salary for the last one year will be Rs 1 lakh, I can get a pension of around Rs 50,000. So you can get twice your original salary as pension,” says Chatterjee.

However, for this to happen, the employer should have contributed his share to the Provident Fund on the actual basic salary, not the mandated limit of Rs 6,500 for the entire service period. Though this is not fair to other workers who are part of the pension pool, the pension scheme’s design makes this manipulation possible.

If you don’t want a pension from EPF, you can get the EPS money as a lump sum along with your PF balance. The benefit will not be linked to the actual contributions made, but to your last year’s average salary and the number of years in service.

What if: You retire early, die in harness, change jobs…

If you retire before the age of 58

Even if you stop working before reaching the age of superannuation, you can avail of pension benefits. However, you shouldn’t be less than 50 years of age. Also, the pension amount will be reduced by 2% for every year. So, if after working for 25 years, you take retirement at 50, your pension amount should be Rs 2,321 per month. But as you left service eight years before the age of superannuation, your pension will be reduced by 16%—it will be Rs 1,950.

Source : Economic Times