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Pension. In a remarkable advancement for pensioners across the country, a new initiative will soon enable them to withdraw their pension from any bank branch. On Wednesday, Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that from January 2025, pensioners enrolled in the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) pension scheme will have the facility to access their funds from any participating bank or branch across the country. Currently, pensioners have to visit the specific bank or branch where they have an account, posing a challenge for those who travel to different locations. The upcoming system is designed to mitigate these difficulties by allowing withdrawals from any bank branch participating in the programme. Mandaviya, who also serves as the chairman of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), has approved the implementation of a centralised pension payment system (CPPS) for the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) 1995, the labour ministry revealed. This innovative system will streamline pension payments, making them accessible through any bank branch across the country.

Mandaviya termed the approval of CPPS as a significant step towards modernization of EPFO. The approval of this system represents a significant achievement in improving the operational efficiency of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation. He emphasised that this initiative will address the long-standing challenges faced by pensioners and facilitate a more effective pension disbursement process. Mandaviya highlighted that this initiative is a significant step towards evolving EPFO ​​as a more flexible, responsive and technology-oriented organisation, better suited to meet the needs of its members and pensioners. It is estimated that over 78 lakh EPS-95 pensioners of EPFO ​​will benefit from the new centralised pension payment system, which will ensure a smooth pension disbursement process across the country, eliminating the need to transfer Pension Payment Orders (PPOs) between various offices.

According to the ministry statement, the new system represents a major change in the existing pension disbursement process. Under the existing system, each EPFO ​​regional office had to enter into separate agreements with only three or four banks. With the new system, pensioners will no longer need to visit the bank branch for verification when their pension is commenced and the payment will be credited immediately upon release, the statement said.