EPS pension hike: Will minimum pension rise from Rs 1,000 to Rs 7,500?

Raising the minimum pension for the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) has been a key request from EPS pensioners and Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) members for quite some time. On August 5, 2026, the EPS 95 National Agitation Committee, an organisation representing a large number of EPS pensioners from across the country, staged a protest in New Delhi. They urged the central government to increase the minimum EPS pension from Rs 1,000, to Rs 7,500, arguing that the current amount is not enough to meet the rising cost of living.

The issue of increasing the minimum EPS pension was also raised in Lok Sabha today (Monday, August 10, 2026), when Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Member of Parliament (MP), asked whether the government plans to raise the minimum EPS-95 pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 7,500.

Bidhuri also requested information on the employees covered under the EPS-1995 scheme and the total amount of pension received by them.


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The MP also asked about the number of employees receiving higher pension under the Supreme Court’s decision of September 2022.

Is the government increasing minimum EPS pension amount to Rs 7,500/month?

Replying to Bidhuri’s query, Shobha Karandlaje, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, didn’t give a clear answer about whether the government plans to raise the minimum EPS pension, but pointed out that the government is already providing EPS pension to its members in addition to the budgetary support of 1.16% of wages.

“The corpus of the Employees’ Pension Fund is made up of (i) contribution by the employer @ 8.33% of wages; and (ii) contribution from central government through budgetary support @ 1.16% of wages up to an amount of Rs 15,000/- per month. All benefits under the scheme are paid out of such accumulations. The fund is valued annually as mandated under paragraph 32 of EPS, 1995,” says the Labour Minister.

“The government is providing a minimum pension of Rs 1,000 per month to the pensioners under the EPS, 1995, by providing budgetary support, which is in addition to the budgetary support of 1.16% of wages provided annually towards the EPS to Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO),” the Ministry added.

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Under the EPS scheme, an employer contributes 8.33% of an employee’s basic pay, while the central government contributes 1.16% up to the wage ceiling of Rs 15,000 to the employee’s EPS account.

What the Minister means is that already the minimum pension of Rs 1,000 is being provided with budgetary support in addition to the employer and government’s EPS contributions.

Given the current circumstances, it seems unlikely that the government will consider raising the minimum EPS pension immediately. However, we can’t completely rule out the possibility of an increase in the future.

“The government is committed to ensuring robust social security coverage to members of EPFO schemes while taking into consideration the sustainability of the fund and future liabilities thereon,” says Karandlaje.

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Number of pensioners under EPS scheme

Revealing the total number of pensioners getting a monthly pension under the EPS scheme, Karandlaje said that as of March 31, 2026, the total number of pensioners under the EPS scheme is 85,84,604. The total amount of pension disbursed under the scheme up to March 31, 2026, is Rs 15,819.28 crore.

How many employees are getting higher EPS pension?

While the maximum EPS contribution in a month under the Rs 15,000 wage ceiling is Rs 1,250, many employees opted for a higher EPS pension where their monthly contribution was up to their basic pay, irrespective of the wage ceiling at that time.

On 4 November 2022, the Supreme Court held that the amendment made to the Employees' Pension Scheme effective on September 1, 2014, was valid, subject to certain directions, allowing eligible employees who contributed on the basis of actual basic salaries above the wage ceiling to opt for a higher pension.

Later, the EPFO through a circular dated February 20, 2023, acknowledged that the employees who satisfy conditions may, along with their employers, submit a joint option application with the EPFO to avail a higher pension amount.

Replying to Bidhuri, Karandlaje said that a total of 1,49,806 pension payment orders (PPOs) on pension on higher wages have been issued to the retired applicants following the Supreme Court’s judgement dated November 4, 2022.

The government has replaced the EPS-95 pension scheme with the EPS 2026 scheme. However, Karandlaje said in the Parliament recently, that the beneficiaries of the EFPS 1971 and EPS 1995 schemes will continue receiving benefits under the new EPS 2026 scheme.