Private Security Agency Owner Concerned About Pension Contributions for Employees Over 65 – Am I Facing Penalties?

I run a private security agency. I pay PF for my employees. Till now, I have been paying pensions for all employees, including those enrolled after 2014. Two of my employees are over 65 years of age, and I have paid pension contributions for them too.

Kindly advise on the implications of the same. Am I liable for any penalty?

Clarification on EPS and PF Contributions

Please confirm whether you are remitting EPS contributions along with PF contributions to the EPF Office. Your statement, "Till now I have been paying pensions for all employees, including those enrolled after 2014," is causing confusion. If you are contributing/remitting to the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) through the PF office, there is no obligation to pay any pension directly other than the monthly pension under the EPS. Please clarify this point.

Additionally, if the employee in question is 65 years old, there is no need to remit pension contributions, as such employees are eligible to draw a pension from the EPS scheme after reaching 58 years of age. The pension must be remitted to the employee's bank account. The employee's responsibility is limited to submitting a 'Life Certificate' to the EPFO, either through your bankers or directly to the bank. Please provide further clarification.

Thank you for the reply. I was wrong in my wording. I am paying the pension contribution as you said. I shall redraft my query.

Dividing employer's contribution into pension and EPF

I am dividing the employer's contribution into pension and EPF, even for those enrolled after 2014, as well as for those over 65 years of age. Can EPFO fine me for it? I know those who are over 65 and have stopped the pension contribution from this month, but how do I identify those who enrolled after 01 Sep 2014 (assuming that is the cutoff date for stopping pension contribution)? All employees are contractual, and they have little knowledge of their own date of EPF enrollment.

Dear friend,

If you are remitting regularly, I am sure you must know your code and employees' EPF UAN account number. With this, you can easily check their account online. Please try and revert. If you are remitting manually through a bank account, these codes are also essential.

Dear Sir,

I do have the UAN numbers. I personally handle the ECR uploads and pay the Challans online. However, the employees are on a 2-year contract. Most of them were previously employed elsewhere, not with me. I only receive their UAN numbers from them and add them using the "Register Member" option on the site. However, I am not aware of their date of commencement. How can I resolve this issue?

Additionally, please advise on the implications of dividing the employer contribution into EPS and EPF.

Thank you.

Dear Member, please note that an employee who has attained 58 years can continue to be a member of EPF, provided he has not withdrawn his PF accumulations. An employee who has attained 58 years cannot become a member of EPF for the first time.

Similarly, an employer can contribute at 8.33% to EPS until the employee attains 58 years. Thereafter, the contribution to EPS should be stopped immediately. In case an employee has been a member of EPS for 10 years upon reaching 58 years, EPS contributions can be remitted for 2 more years or until 60 years. Consequently, the member will receive an enhanced pension after turning 60 years.

You are automatically enrolling employees under EPF based on having UAN. For employees who have reached 58 years, ensure that they have not withdrawn EPF accumulations. For such employees, you can continue to contribute and cover them under EPF.

Similarly, you need to identify employees who have attained 58 years and have had 10 years of EPS membership to extend their membership for 2 more years.

As suggested by Mr. Kumar, verify your records and revert for corrective action.

Queries about PF and EPS Contributions for Employees Over 58

A few queries. If a new member cannot be added after 58 years, how do we pay their PF contribution? If I employ such a person and do not pay PF, then I commit a wrongdoing. Does it not indirectly mean that no one beyond 58 can get gainful employment for the first time in their life?

My query regarding 58 pertains to EPS contribution. I have been paying EPS contributions for all employees irrespective of age or date of joining. I need to know the implications of this and whether I can abruptly stop the EPS contribution for those for whom it is not applicable from next month onwards and pay the full amount into Account No. 1 for PF.