EPS-95 higher pension: Pensioners’ body appeals to President as retirees struggle to get higher pension

The National Confederation of Pensioners’ Associations (NCPA), an organisation that claims to represent 10 lakh pensioners from Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and the private sector, has written a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, asking her to step in and resolve higher Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) issues for lakhs of employees.

In a letter dated October 23, 2026, the NCPA has demanded that the President direct the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to stop ‘unnecessary’ litigation regarding pending higher EPS pension cases and waive punitive interest and settle claims.

The NCPA has also asked the President to direct the EPFO to withdraw a circular dated January 18, 2025, where the provident fund body had said that the eligibility for pension on higher wage cases should have been determined based on the extant trust rules of the exempted establishments.


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The NCPA says that, because of this circular, the EPFO is stopping many higher pension cases, citing that historical internal trust rules of an exempted establishment strictly mirrored the statutory wage ceilings.

What NCPA says about higher EPS pension?

The NCPA writes that the government started the EPS in 1995 and, through a notification on February 28, 1996, established the framework for Pension of Higher Wages (PoHW).

The NCPA says that following the landmark judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in RC Gupta (2016) and Sunil Kumar B (2022) cases, the right to the higher EPS pension was settled. “Yet, the EPFO has chosen a path of active judicial defiance,” says the NCPA.

In an earlier letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, the NCPA had highlighted that in the EPFO Vs Sunil Kumar B. case in 2022, the Apex Court explicitly ruled that employees of exempted and un-exempted establishments constitute 'one single class' for pension purposes.

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What are NCPA’s key grievances?

Requests to withdraw EPFO circular dated January 18, 2025

The NCPA says that the January 18, 2025 circular from the EPFO says that the eligibility for pension on higher wage cases should be determined based on the extant trust rules of the exempted establishments, in consonance with the directions of the Supreme Court in the Sunil Kumar case in 2022.

The circular further says that in case the trust rules are amended, post decision dated November 04, 2022, in the Sunil Kumar Case, applications of members of such trusts may not be considered.

The NCPA says that the circular violates the Division Bench ruling of the Madras High Court (July 9, 2026), which affirmed that internal trust rules are merely administrative arrangements for Provident Fund and cannot override parent legislation (under EPS-95) enacted by the Parliament.

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Partial acceptance of higher EPS pension applications

The NCPA says that while retirees from certain exempted and un-exempted establishments receive higher EPS pension (with the Ministry of Labour admitting in the Parliament on August 10, 2026, that over 149,806 PoHW orders were issued), retirees from selected exempted establishments face arbitrary mass rejections based on internal PF trust rules.

“This even creates hostile divisions within the same Public Sector Undertakings (such as SAIL, HAL, BHEL, IOCL, HMT, BEL, ITI and many more) based purely on geographical postings in different units under the same PSUs,” the NCPA writes.

The NCPA here says that while employees of the same PSU get higher EPS pension at some centres, the same facility is not extended to employees at other centres.

“This violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India,” writes the NCPA.

Meagre pension, high court case expenditure

The NCPA highlights that litigants are getting meagre pensions of Rs 2,000-Rs 5,000 a month, while also fighting cases for higher EPS pension.

"While the EPFO sits on an enormous pension corpus exceeding Rs 11 lakh crore, its litigious strategy has fostered a dark game of 'attrition by mortality', forcing senior citizens through endless court corridors," writes the NCPA.

Many litigations, no consensus on higher EPS pension

The NCPA says that the EPFO's current stance directly collides with the law of the land as settled by the Supreme Court and reaffirmed by multiple High Courts.

The NCPA writes, “Post-Supreme Court verdict in 2022, there are about 400+ writ petitions and writ appeals pending in 18 High Courts and 26 judgments have already been delivered by 10 High Courts covering more than 200 writ petitions in favour of the pensioners.”

NCPA’s three demands from President Droupadi Murmu

The NCPA has requested the President to intervene and order the EPFO and the Ministry of Labour and Employment to take these three higher pension-related steps.

A. Immediately withdraw the EPFO circular

The NCPA has requested the ‘unconditional withdrawal of the oppressive and legally unsustainable EPFO circular’ dated January 18, 2025.

B. Halt litigation & enforce uniformity

The NCPA has asked the President to conduct an immediate litigation audit to withdraw all frivolous appeals against settled High Court judgments, ensuring that retirees of exempted establishments are not ‘subjected to structural or procedural discrimination’.

C. Waive punitive interest & settle claims

The pensioners’ body wants the President to direct the acceptance of joint options for higher pension without punitive interest penalties accrued ‘solely due to the EPFO's administrative delays.’

The NCPA suggests establishing a time-bound mechanism to grant immediate relief to ageing pensioners.