RTI reply shows that a monthly pension as low as Rs. 4 being paid to retired employee
23 Aug, 2013
In 2010, an application was filed with the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get information regarding the volume of employees receiving less than Rs. 200 per month as pension. The information demanded in the RTI query was not provided to the applicant by the organisation.
However, in a reply to another RTI query filed in March, 2013 the Regional Provident Fund (RPF) Commissioner of Trivandrum has admitted of paying pittance to many retired state and central staff under the Employees Pension Scheme 1995 sometimes as low pension as Rs. 4 per month.
The reply shows that as on March 30, 2013, almost 41 lakh retired personnel receive pension benefits under the Employees Pension Scheme 1995. However, more than 13,000 pensioners are receiving less than Rs. 100 as their monthly pension. The reply states that around 12 lakh retired officials are paid between Rs. 100 and Rs. 500 as monthly pension. Regarding the payment of Rs. 4 per month as pension, the RPF Commissioner did not provide the name of the employee who is receiving such pittance.