EPS Full Form: EPFO Pension Formula, Eligibility and Withdrawal
Independent guide. We are not part of EPFO or the Government, and we never ask for your UAN password, account details or OTP.
EPS stands for Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995. It is EPFO's pension scheme for EPF members. Your employer puts 8.33% of your wages into it every month and the Government adds 1.16%. With 10 years' service you get a monthly pension from 58, at least ₹1,000. With less, you get a lump-sum withdrawal benefit.
- Full form
- Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995
- Run by
- EPFO, Ministry of Labour & Employment
- Paid by
- Employer 8.33% of wages + Government 1.16%; nothing from your salary
- Wage ceiling
- ₹25,000 a month from 17 Sep 2026 (was ₹15,000); employer share up to ₹2,083
- Formula
- Pensionable salary × pensionable service ÷ 70
- Eligibility
- 10 years' service; full pension at 58, reduced from 50
- Minimum pension
- ₹1,000 a month
- Helpdesk
- 14470; complaints on EPFiGMS
What is EPS?
EPS is the pension part of your EPF membership. Your PF account gives you a lump sum; EPS gives you a monthly pension for life, and then a pension for your family. It pays on retirement, early retirement and permanent disablement, and to your family if you die.
- It is a defined benefit. Your pension depends on your salary and years of service, not on the money in the pension fund. That is why your passbook shows EPS contributions but no EPS "balance" that earns interest.
- Pension is guaranteed. If your employer fails to pay the pension contribution, your pension is still granted.
- It follows your UAN. When you change jobs, your pension service history moves with you; the money itself is not transferred.
On 2 Mar 2026 EPFO's Central Board of Trustees (CBT) approved a new EPS, 2026 to replace the 1995 scheme under the Code on Social Security, 2020. We have not found an official notice that it is in force yet; EPFO's own EPS page still describes EPS, 1995. This page follows EPS, 1995.
Who is a member
- Every EPF member whose PF wages were within the ceiling when they joined. You can't join EPS without EPF.
- New ceiling, ₹25,000: from 17 Sep 2026, EPS membership is open to employees whose wages on joining, or on 17 Sep 2026, are up to ₹25,000 a month. If you were in EPF but not EPS and your wages are ₹15,000–₹25,000, your employer must enrol you in EPS from 17 Sep 2026. You don't need to apply.
- Wages above the ceiling on joining? You can still join EPF with your employer's consent, but not EPS. The employer's whole 12% then goes to your EPF.
- Not after 58: you can't become an EPS member if you join a job at 58 or later, and membership ends at 58. Someone already drawing an EPS pension (including early pension) joins only EPF in a new job.
The 8.33% contribution
Nothing is deducted from your salary for EPS. Of your employer's 12% EPF contribution, 8.33% goes to the pension fund and 3.67% to your EPF account. The Central Government adds 1.16%, still limited to wages of ₹15,000 (₹174 a month).
| PF wages a month | Employer to EPS (8.33%) | Employer to EPF (3.67%) |
|---|---|---|
| ₹10,000 | ₹833 | ₹367 |
| ₹15,000 (old cap) | ₹1,250 | ₹550 |
| ₹20,000 | ₹1,666 | ₹734 |
| ₹25,000 (new cap) | ₹2,083 | ₹917 |
| ₹35,000, joined above the cap | ₹0 (not an EPS member) | ₹3,000 (full 12% of ₹25,000) |
Amounts from EPFO's wage-ceiling table, from the October 2026 wage month. September 2026 is split: the old ceiling up to 16 Sep and the new one from 17 Sep.
How your pension is calculated
Monthly pension = Pensionable salary × Pensionable service ÷ 70
- Pensionable salary: the average monthly pay in the 60 months before you leave the pension fund. Months without contribution are left out.
- Pensionable service: the years for which contributions were received, added up across all your jobs. Gaps without a job don't count.
- Bonus 2 years: if you retire at 58 with 20 or more years of pensionable service, 2 years are added.
- EPFO's own example: joined at 23, retired at 58 after 35 years, pensionable salary ₹15,000: 15,000 × 35 ÷ 70 = ₹7,500 a month.
- No yearly increase: once fixed, the pension does not rise every year, and you can't swap it for a lump sum (commutation was removed from 26 Sep 2008).
What the ₹25,000 ceiling changes
- Higher pensionable salary: EPFO says the higher ceiling lets pensionable wages be counted up to ₹25,000, which increases the pension payable, subject to the EPS provisions.
- Not automatic for everyone: EPFO also says it does not mean every existing pensioner or member gets a proportionate increase. Your pension still depends on your pensionable salary, pensionable service and the scheme conditions.
- Earlier caps still matter: the scheme already works out pensionable salary in parts for service before and after 1 Sep 2014 (cap ₹6,500 before, ₹15,000 after). EPFO has not yet published a worked example of how service before and after 17 Sep 2026 will be combined. Treat any ₹25,000-based figure as an estimate until it does.
- Government's 1.16% is unchanged at wages up to ₹15,000; EPFO says this has no effect on your pension.
Eligibility: 10 years or less
You can't get a monthly pension yet. When you leave a job (before 58) you have two choices:
- Withdrawal benefit: a one-time payment worked out from Table D of the scheme, based on your completed months of service and the wages on which EPS contribution was paid. Since 14 Jun 2024 even one month's contribution qualifies (earlier you needed 6 months), and every completed month counts. Government sample: 2 years 5 months on ₹15,000 wages now gets ₹36,000 instead of ₹29,850. Claim it with Form 10C, online with your UAN.
- Scheme certificate: keep your service instead of taking money. It records your pensionable service and salary, so the years count towards 10 when you join another covered job. If you die while holding it, your family gets a pension.
- Contribution not paid by the employer? The withdrawal benefit covers only the months for which contributions were received.
Changing jobs? You usually don't need either: your service history carries forward under the same UAN. EPFO advises completing 10 years so that you become eligible for a pension; once you take the withdrawal benefit, that service is gone.
- No withdrawal: after 10 years' eligible service you can't take the EPS money as a lump sum. Leave before 58 and you get a scheme certificate (compulsory), and pension later.
- At 58: full pension. It is payable from the day after you turn 58, even if you stopped working earlier. Still working at 58? You can start the pension then.
- From 50: early (reduced) pension. The pension is cut by 4% for every year your age is short of 58. Once sanctioned, it does not go up to the full amount at 58.
- Up to 60: deferred pension. You can choose to start at 59 or 60. The pension increases by 4% for each completed year after 58. If you keep working, you may also keep contributing until 60, which raises the pension further.
- Claim: pension is claimed with Form 10D, online through the Member Portal or UMANG. See filing claims with your UAN.
- Minimum: a member's pension is at least ₹1,000 a month (less any early-pension reduction or old commutation). The Government pays the extra from the budget. As of July 2025 it said no decision had been taken to raise the ₹1,000 minimum.
Types of EPS pension
| Pension | Who gets it | Key rule |
|---|---|---|
| Superannuation | Member at 58 | 10 years' service; full formula amount; minimum ₹1,000 |
| Early (reduced) | Member aged 50–57 who has left service | 10 years' service; 4% less for each year short of 58 |
| Deferred | Member who starts at 59 or 60 | 4% more for each completed year after 58 |
| Disablement | Member permanently and totally disabled in service | Any age and any length of service; medical examination needed |
| Widow / widower | Spouse of a member or pensioner who dies | For life or until remarriage; minimum ₹1,000. Payable even if the member contributed for just one month. A pensioner's spouse gets 50% of the pension |
| Children | Up to 2 children at a time, alongside the widow pension | 25% of the widow pension each (minimum ₹250), until age 25 |
| Orphan | Children when there is no spouse, or after the spouse dies or remarries | 75% of the widow pension each (minimum ₹750), up to 2 at a time, until age 25 |
| Disabled child | A permanently and totally disabled son or daughter | For life, in addition to the two children's pensions |
| Nominee / parents | Unmarried member with no family | To the nominee; with no valid nomination, to the dependent father, then mother |
Married daughters under 25 are eligible like other children. If both parents were EPS members, an orphan can get two orphan pensions. Nomination is filed with Form 2; once you start drawing a pension, a nomination no longer applies.
Pension on higher wages
Some members contributed to EPS on their actual salary above the ceiling. On 4 Nov 2022 the Supreme Court (EPFO vs Sunil Kumar B.) upheld the 2014 amendments to EPS and ordered a fresh chance to opt for pension on higher wages for:
- pensioners who retired before 1 Sep 2014 after exercising a joint option that EPFO rejected on the cut-off date; and
- members in service before 1 Sep 2014 and still in service on or after it, who had not exercised a joint option.
EPFO took applications online from 26 Feb 2023; the last date for employees was 11 Jul 2023, so the window has closed. The Court found the 1.16% extra contribution from employees invalid; the Government now takes it from within the employer's 12%. Applied and have a problem? File a grievance on EPFiGMS under "Higher Pensionary benefits on higher wages".
Life certificate (Jeevan Pramaan)
Every EPS pensioner must submit a life certificate (and a non-remarriage certificate where it applies) once every 12 months, counted from the month the pension was sanctioned or the last certificate was given. Miss it and the pension stops. The digital version, Jeevan Pramaan (DLC), has been accepted since 2015 and can be done from home by face scan since July 2022.
- Install AadhaarFaceRD and Jeevan Pramaan on a smartphone.
- Authenticate the operator with Aadhaar and the Aadhaar-linked mobile.
- Enter the pensioner's Aadhaar and pension details, including the PPO number.
- Complete the face scan; the screen shows the Jeevan Pramaan ID and PPO number.
No smartphone? A biometric (fingerprint or iris) DLC can be given at a pension-paying bank branch, a Common Service Centre (CSC), a post office through India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), or a PF office. A paper certificate signed by a bank manager or gazetted officer goes to the bank that pays your pension.
How pension is paid: CPPS
- Any bank, any branch: under the Centralised Pension Payments System (CPPS), rolled out across all 122 pension-disbursing regional offices in December 2024, you can take your pension in any bank. Earlier each office worked with only 3–4 banks.
- No bank visit to start: you don't need to visit the bank for verification when the pension begins, and it is credited as soon as it is released.
- Moving home? From January 2025, your Pension Payment Order (PPO) no longer needs to be transferred between offices when you move or change bank or branch.
- Spouse and children: the widow and children must draw pension in the same bank and branch, and a child needs a separate account.
Common problems and fixes
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| PF moved to the new job but the pension amount didn't | That is normal. Only your service history moves; pension depends on service and salary, not the fund balance. |
| Passbook shows no EPS share though wages are ₹15,000–₹25,000 | From 17 Sep 2026 your employer must enrol you in EPS. Ask payroll, then complain on EPFiGMS. |
| Pension stopped | Check whether your life certificate is overdue and submit a Jeevan Pramaan DLC. |
| Withdrawal benefit claim (Form 10C) rejected | Read the reason in claim status, fix KYC, date of exit or profile details, and file again. |
| Anything else unresolved | Call 14470 or file on EPFiGMS with your UAN or PPO number. |
Safety
EPFO never asks for your Aadhaar, PAN, bank details or OTP over the phone, and never asks you to pay to start, raise or "release" a pension. Online services, including the life certificate, are free.
- Use only epfindia.gov.in, the Member Portal, UMANG and the official Jeevan Pramaan app.
- Ignore calls offering a "higher pension" or a quicker pension for a fee.
- Lost money to a fraud? Call 1930 or report on cybercrime.gov.in at once.
History of EPS
Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995 notified under Section 6A of the EPF & MP Act, 1952, replacing the Family Pension Scheme, 1971.
Commutation of pension removed.
Wage ceiling raised to ₹15,000; minimum pension of ₹1,000 introduced.
Supreme Court judgement on pension on higher wages.
Withdrawal benefit for service under 6 months; Table D counts completed months.
CPPS rolled out in all regional offices.
CBT approves a new EPS, 2026.
Wage ceiling raised to ₹25,000; maximum employer EPS share ₹2,083.
FAQs
What is the full form of EPS?
Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995: the pension scheme EPFO runs for EPF members.
Is EPS deducted from my salary?
No. EPS gets 8.33% out of your employer's 12% share, plus 1.16% from the Government. Your own 12% goes fully to EPF.
How much EPS pension will I get?
Pensionable salary (average of the last 60 months) × pensionable service ÷ 70. EPFO's example: ₹15,000 × 35 years ÷ 70 = ₹7,500 a month. The minimum is ₹1,000.
Does the ₹25,000 wage ceiling raise my pension?
It can. EPFO says pensionable wages can now be counted up to ₹25,000, which raises the pension for eligible members, but not every existing member or pensioner gets an automatic increase.
Can I withdraw my EPS money?
Only if your service is under 10 years: claim the withdrawal benefit with Form 10C. After 10 years you get a pension instead.
Can I take pension before 58?
Yes, from 50, if you have 10 years' service and have left employment. It is reduced by 4% for each year short of 58 and stays at that amount.
What does my family get if I die?
Your spouse gets a widow or widower pension (minimum ₹1,000) and up to two children get 25% of it each until 25. Without a spouse, children get an orphan pension of 75%. This applies even after one month's contribution.
Can I still apply for pension on higher wages?
No. The online window for the Supreme Court's 4 Nov 2022 judgement closed for employees on 11 Jul 2023.
How often do I need to give a life certificate?
Once every 12 months from the month your pension was sanctioned or your last certificate. You can do it from home with a Jeevan Pramaan face scan.
Official sources
- EPFO – Employees' Pension Scheme page (coverage, 8.33% + 1.16%, formula, early pension, life certificate) (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- EPFO – FAQs (scheme certificate, membership, pension example, family, orphan, deferred pension, nomination) (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- EPFO – Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995 text (paras 10–16: weightage, 4% early/deferred, ₹1,000 minimum, children and orphan pension) (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- EPFO – FAQs on revision of wage ceiling to ₹25,000 (S.O. 5109(E), 17 Sep 2026): EPS membership, contributions, pension effect (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- PIB – Cabinet approves higher EPFO wage ceiling of ₹25,000, Sep 2026 (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- PIB – EPFO raises wage ceiling; maximum EPS contribution ₹2,083, Sep 2026 (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- PIB – EPFO wage ceiling enhanced; EPS at 8.33% of ₹25,000, Sep 2026 (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- PIB – Increasing minimum pension under EPS-95 (Rajya Sabha reply), Jul 2025 (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- PIB – EPS 1995 amended: withdrawal benefit under 6 months' service; Table D modified, Jun 2024 (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- PIB – Notifications in compliance of the Supreme Court judgement of 4.11.2022 on pension on higher wages, May 2023 (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- PIB – Last date for higher-wage pension options extended to 11.07.2023 (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- PIB – Centralised Pension Payments System fully rolled out in all EPFO regional offices, Jan 2025 (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- PIB – Facial Authentication Technology for EPS pensioners' Digital Life Certificate (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- PIB – 239th CBT meeting: new EPF, EPS and EDLI Schemes, 2026 approved, 2 Mar 2026 (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- MeitY – Jeevan Pramaan, life certificate for pensioners (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- EPFO – EPFiGMS grievance portal (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- Ministry of Home Affairs – National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
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