Navigating Online Pension Claims: How to Get a Scheme Certificate for Monthly Benefits?

One of our employees recently completed his 58th year of age with 24 years of service. Now, after his retirement, he has claimed his entire PF balance through the portal. However, when he tried to claim his monthly pension through the portal, it asked for a scheme certificate number.

Procedure to Obtain Scheme Certificate

My question is, what is the procedure to obtain his scheme certificate in order to access the monthly pension benefits? Since all claims are paperless nowadays, is there a way to apply for the scheme certificate online?

Hi,

You need to process Pension Withdrawal Form-10D along with Form No. 5 and Form 3A (all physical forms) for that employee to enable him to get a pension with bank account details of the employee.

Understanding the Scheme Certificate

A Scheme Certificate matters only when you have had service with any previous company or companies. It is issued when you change employment and withdraw the PF amount only, without withdrawing the pension amount. Obviously, if you had 10 years of service, you cannot withdraw the Pension Fund. The only alternative is to get a Scheme Certificate from the EPFO, which certifies your service duration, last drawn salary, and provides details of your spouse and children who are eligible for a pension in the event of your death. Normally, this is surrendered when you join another organization, and with this, your past service will be added to the new company.

Applying for a Pension

While applying for a pension, if you have a Scheme Certificate, you can attach it. If you do not have any Scheme Certificate, just ignore it.

Please reconfirm whether the pension application is made online. I think the pension application is still offline only but with reduced documentation.