Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Engages in Key Talks with EPS-95 Pensioners on Urgent Pension Reforms

The EPS-95 pensioners are demanding a minimum pension of Rs. 7,500 and full medical cover.

Government Assurance to Consider Proposals and Sort Out the Issue

New Delhi:30 August 2024

In a significant development, a meeting was held today between Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and representatives of the EPS-95 National Agitation Committee to address long-pending demands related to the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995. The meeting formed a critical juncture in the ongoing dialogue between pensioners and the government, who have been agitating for the last eight years on better pension benefits.

For almost eight years, EPS-95 pensioners have been demanding a serious increase in their pension from the average Rs.1,450 per month to a minimum of Rs. 7,500 per month along with full medical coverage both for the pensioners and their spouses. Despite repeated assurances by the Prime Minister and recent meetings with the Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment and the top bureaucracy in the EPFO, the pensioners remain dissatisfied due to non-implementation of concrete action.

The delegation again demanded an increase in minimum pension, implementation of higher pension benefits without discrimination, and free medical facilities for pensioners and their spouses, and a number of other demands.

Assuring the delegation, the Finance Minister said the Government was sensitive to the needs of the elderly and took serious note of the proposals put across by the EPFO. She reiterated her assurance that the government is committed to ensuring financial security for pensioners and a way out will be found. She also appealed for the hunger strike by pensioners in Buldhana, Maharashtra which has now crossed over 2,075 days to be withdrawn.

This comes after earlier consultations with the Central Provident Fund Commissioner and the Additional Secretary of the Labour Ministry to find a workable solution to the grievances of the pensioners. With the assurance given that the discussions would start soon, pensioners across the country are eagerly waiting to see their government take serious action to ease their financial difficulties and give them a quality life.