India's Government Responds to Calls for Higher Minimum Pension
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The Indian government has addressed growing demands to raise the minimum pension under the EPS-95 scheme, responding to questions raised in Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's parliament.
EPS-95, or the Employees' Pension Scheme, currently guarantees a minimum monthly pension of ₹1,000 to workers who contributed during their careers. Many pensioners and worker groups have been pushing for this to rise to ₹7,500, arguing that the current amount is too small to cover basic living costs.
During the parliamentary session, the government gave its response to this long-standing demand, though it stopped short of announcing an immediate increase to ₹7,500.
Separately, the government also addressed concerns about a large number of pending applications for higher EPS pension. Many workers who are eligible for a bigger pension, based on higher contributions during their working years, have been waiting for their claims to be processed.
To tackle this backlog, the government outlined four specific steps being taken to speed up the clearance of pending PF (Provident Fund) claims. PF and EPS contributions are managed together for many Indian workers.
The organisation responsible for handling these pensions and claims is the EPFO, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, which serves millions of workers and pensioners across India.
The issue of raising the minimum pension has been debated for several years, as inflation has made it harder for pensioners to manage on ₹1,000 per month. However, no confirmed timeline for a ₹7,500 minimum has been given yet.
Workers and pension groups are likely to keep pressing the government for both a higher minimum pension and faster processing of pending higher-pension applications in the coming months.
Vocabulary11 words
- EPS-95
- a government pension plan for Indian workers
- Lok Sabha
- the main house of India's parliament
- pending applications
- requests that have not been answered yet
- higher EPS pension
- a bigger monthly pension some workers can claim
- backlog
- a large number of unfinished tasks
- PF
- Provident Fund, savings for workers managed by the government
- EPFO
- the body that manages Indian workers' pension and savings funds
- minimum pension
- the smallest pension amount allowed by law
- contributions
- money paid regularly into a fund
- scheme
- an official plan or system
- inflation
- when prices for goods rise over time
Quiz
Answer key
1. ₹1,000 2. Four steps to speed up clearance 3. False
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
The Indian government has addressed growing demands to raise the minimum pension under the _____ scheme, responding to questions raised in _____.
EPS-95 currently guarantees a minimum monthly pension of ₹_____ to workers.
Many pensioners have been pushing for this to rise to ₹_____.
The government also addressed concerns about a large number of _____ for higher EPS pension.
To tackle this backlog, the government outlined _____ specific steps to speed up clearance of pending _____ claims.
The organisation responsible for handling these pensions is the _____.
As _____ has made it harder for pensioners to manage on ₹1,000 per month, pressure has grown for change.
Discussion questions
- Why might a minimum pension of ₹1,000 be considered too low today?
- What problems can a backlog of pending applications cause for pensioners?
- Do you think governments should regularly increase minimum pensions to match rising prices? Why or why not?
- What steps do you think would be most effective in speeding up pension claim processing?