EPFO raises wage limit to twenty-five thousand rupees, bringing more workers into social security

Thousands of workers in Ludhiana will get mandatory provident fund, pension, and insurance coverage after the union cabinet raised the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation wage ceiling from fifteen thousand rupees to twenty-five thousand rupees a month. Assistant PF commissioner Jagdish Gakhar stated that the decision matters for Ludhiana because the EPFO jurisdiction currently covers six thousand nine hundred sixty-five contributing establishments and three lakh sixty thousand eight hundred forty-four contributing members.

Nationwide Impact

The Centre expects the nationwide change to bring more than fifty-one lakh extra employees under mandatory EPFO coverage. Employees earning wages between fifteen thousand rupees and twenty-five thousand rupees a month now fall within the statutory social security framework. Workers gain access to provident fund savings, pension benefits under the Employees' Pension Scheme, and insurance protection under the Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme. Gakhar noted that the higher limit should encourage employers in Ludhiana to join the expanded framework, raising the total number of covered establishments and members.

Background and Finances

The wage ceiling was last changed in September twenty-fourteen, when it moved to fifteen thousand rupees. The government stated the new revision reflects higher wages, increased incomes, and more formal jobs over the years. Before this change, workers joining a job above fifteen thousand rupees a month did not automatically get EPF coverage. The expenditure finance committee recommended the proposal on June sixteenth, twenty-twenty-six, after inter-ministerial talks. Gakhar pointed out that the government's yearly financial outgo under the updated framework is estimated at nearly eleven thousand three hundred thirty-nine crore rupees, up from the current yearly support of about ten thousand two-five-zero crore rupees. The estimated spending over five years reaches fifty-six thousand six hundred ninety-six crore rupees. The EPFO currently has about seven crore ninety-eight lakh contributing members across seven lakh sixty-eight thousand contributing establishments nationwide, while nearly eighty-two lakh pensioners get benefits under the EPS.