EPFO orders audit of applications for higher pension; exempted units in focus

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will undertake an audit of all applications related to pension on higher wages (PoHW), with special emphasis on exempted establishments.

In a notification issued recently, the EPFO said the audit will be done by its internal audit teams and will be completed before September 30 this year. ET has seen the notification.

The objective is to verify whether the PoHW applications were disposed of in accordance with the Supreme Court's directive dated November 4, 2022.

The move to audit PoHW applications comes after a directive from the ministry of labour and employment and a recommendation by the Pension & EDLI Implementation Committee (PEIC).

"The disposal of PoHW applications pertaining to the exempted establishments may be audited at an early stage, as the disposal of such cases would have been predominantly based on the applicable Trust Rules," it said, adding that the cases of validation option can also be audited initially.

It said, "This strategy would allow a significant portion of the overall audit workload to be efficiently addressed on priority."

As on July 16, 2025, the EPFO had disposed of over 98.5% of the applications for pension on higher wages, Shobha Karandlage, minister of state for labour and employment, said recently in response to a question in Lok Sabha.

Out of the 1.524 million applications received, the retirement fund body has issued a demand draft to 400,000 applicants eligible for high pension and rejected over 1.1 million applications, while 21,995 applications are pending, she had said.

In its notification, the EPFO has directed all zonal offices to verify key points such as delay in issuance of demand letters, if any; delay and correctness in the issuance of pension payment orders (PPOs) and disbursement of arrears and pension, among others.