Pension hike to be implemented after elections: EPFO official

The process for allotment of unique identification numbers to Provident Fund members would begin soon, additional PF commissioner V Vijayakumar said here today.
The KYC arrangement, which would follow, would enable members to get settlement of dues done directly with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) office, Vijayakumar said on the sidelines of a programme here.
Vijaykumar also said that the hike of pension to Rs 1,000 a month was likely to be implemented once the elections were over. It is likely to be given with a retrospective effect from April, 2014.
He said that the EPFO is also drawing a strategy to expedite the recovery of around Rs 550 crore dues from the eastern region.

"The total dues in my zone is Rs 550 crore, but of which around Rs 450 crore is blocked in litigations," he said adding he would hold a meeting with legal professionals by the end of this month.
Vijaykumar recently took over as the head the EPFO office in the east that controls, West Bengal, Northeast, Sikkim, Jharkhand and Andaman & Nicobar islands.

He said that he would try to increase the number of PF members to over 1 crore from around 80 lakh now by launching an engagement drive.
"A parliamentary committee has found that some 32,000 workers are not covered in the jute sector and in Murshidabad the number is over 60,000," Vijaykumar said.

Speaking about performance, he said that last year total settlement was to the tune of Rs 2400 crore in PF and Rs 197 crore in pension.
He said that EPFO had issued penalty notices to over 500 establishments for delayed payment of PF dues.