In a recent meeting with a delegation of EPS-95 pensioners, Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman has assured them that their demands for increasing the monthly pension to Rs 7,500 per month would be taken into consideration in the upcoming Budget.

The delegation met Sitharaman to advocate for raising the minimum pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 7,500 per month. They also requested to increase in the dearness allowance (DA) and free medical care for pensioners and their spouses, according to a report by Financial Express.

The government set the minimum pension at Rs 1,000 in 2014, under the Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS-95). However, employees have been vocal about the amount being insufficient.

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According to the EPS-95 National Agitation Committee statement, Sitharaman has assured the delegation that their concerns would be taken into consideration. As a result, they are hopeful that in the upcoming Budget, it could be taken up and the minimum pension amount may be increased.

Sitharaman is expected to present Union Budget 2025 on February 1, 2025. In the run-up to this, the finance ministry is taking responses from corporate bodies, stakeholders, and the general public. Sitharaman is also holding consultative meetings with various groups, including the EPS-95 National Agitation Committee.

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Raising Minimum Pension – A Long-Standing Demand

Previously in August 2024, representatives of the committee met with Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Labour and Employment, and urged him to address their demands. At that time, Mandaviya had assured them that the government was committed to finding solutions to their issues.

While some labour organisations are calling for a minimum pension of Rs 5,000, the National Agitation Committee (NAC) has criticised this proposal as being inadequate to meet the basic daily needs of a pensioner.

Headquartered in Maharashtra, the NAC represents approximately 7.8 million retired individuals and 75 million working employees from various industrial sectors. They have long demanded a higher minimum pension and have argued that the current minimum pension is also not available to many pensioners. The committee notes that around 3.6 million pensioners still receive less than Rs 1,000 in pension.

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The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) is a social security scheme in which both employer and the employee contribute 12 per cent of the employee’s salary (basic plus DA). The employees’ entire contribution goes to the EPF account, whereas the employers’ contribution is shared between the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) and the EPF, in ratio of 8.33 per cent and 3.67 per cent ratio, respectively.