Facing Pension Uncertainty: What Happens When Your Former Employer Closes Down?

'A' has been contributing to the EPF in his first organization 'X' since 1982 and left there to join 'Y' in 2008. His PF accumulations were transferred to 'Y'. He left 'Y' in 2014 and joined 'Z', retiring in 2015. His PF was settled, and he started receiving a pension from 2015. His services were extended in 'Z' with a new PF number, and both employee and employer PF contributions of 12% were credited to his new PF account without any sharing in EPS.

He applied for a higher pension option through the online portal of EPFO and received an acknowledgment number. He recently discovered that his second employer, 'Z', is now closed, and their PF registration has been surrendered. Due to this situation, his application for a higher pension may not be endorsed by 'Z' as there is no one available to access the employer portal or digitally approve the EPF communication regarding his application.

In this scenario, although he is eligible for a higher pension, the fate of his application is uncertain.

Expert opinions on this matter are welcomed.

In the second paragraph of my above thread, please read "his second employer 'Y'" instead of "second employer 'Z'".

If the employer is not available or the unit is closed, the EPFO will entertain hard copies of the option forms. If you have been contributing on a salary above Rs 15,000 (from 2008 to 2014 above Rs 6,500, as the case may be), you can give options offline. Since you have withdrawn the PF accumulations, which should have contained an element of the employer's share on a higher salary that ought to have gone to the pension fund, you will have to refund that amount to the EPFO with interest.