The SAIL-BSP Pensioners’ Association has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking for his help against the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). They say EPFO is ignoring a 2022 Supreme Court order that allows higher pensions based on full wages. The group calls it a ‘mirror turned wall’ problem. Even after the court ruling, EPFO uses excuses to block pensions for retirees from ‘exempted’ companies like theirs. A January 18, 2025, EPFO circular demands old trust rules that no one could have guessed would be needed years ago. Key issues raised by the association are that some pensioners get higher pensions, but others who followed wage rules do not, creating unfair groups among retirees. EPFO drags cases in court, letting elderly pensioners die without justice.

 

For a 70-year-old, delays mean no justice at all. The association stated that late payment notices add huge interest about Rs 40,000 a month while many live on tiny pensions of Rs 2,000-5,000. The Labour Ministry admitted in 2023 that EPFO’s own mistakes caused the mess. The association wants the PMO to scrap the 2025 circular, update trust rules to match the Supreme Court order. Forgive interest built up due to EPFO delays and set up a team to clear all pending cases in 30 days. “These seniors built India’s steel industry over 40 years,” said B.N. Agrawal, secretary of the association adding that “they shouldn’t be forced to beg in the courts for rights the Supreme Court already gave.”