The Ministry of Labor can provide a one-time partial withdrawal ie 'Communication' facility from the Pension Fund through the Employees 'Pension Scheme of the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) from January 1. The move could benefit 6.3 lakh pensioners. A source gave this information. These 6.3 lakh pensioners had opted for their pension withdrawal and prior to 2009, at the time of retirement, they were allowed to withdraw a lump sum of some of the amount deposited in the pension head. The EPFO had withdrawn the withdrawal of pension head in 2009.
"The Labor Ministry will issue a notification on January 1, 2020 regarding the implementation of the EPFO's decision to implement the pension 'communication' facility under the Employees Pension Scheme (EPS)," the source said. Under this facility, a part of the pension is given outright to the pensioner in advance. Thereafter, his monthly pension is reduced by one-third for the next 15 years. After 15 years, pensioners are eligible to take full pension.
The Central Board of Trustees, the apex decision making body of the EPFO, in its meeting held on 21 August 2019, approved the proposal to reinstate the 'communication' provision to 6.3 lakh pensioners availing this facility. The Union Trustee Board is headed by the Minister of Labor. An EPFO committee recommended an amendment in EPFC-95 to restore the pension amount after 15 years of partial withdrawal. There was a demand to restore pension 'communication'. Earlier, EPS-95 members were allowed to withdraw one third of the pension head for 10 years. It has been restored after 15 years. This facility is already available for government employees.
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