Pensioners under Employees' Pension Scheme 1995 run by retirement fund body EPFO will be able to get pension from any bank or branch across India from January, Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Wednesday.

Mandaviya, who is also the chairperson of EPFO's apex decision-making body Central Board of Trustees, has approved the proposal for a Centralized Pension Payment System (CPPS) for Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995, a labour ministry statement said.

According to the statement, CPPS marks a major shift by establishing a national-level centralised system, enabling pension disbursement through any bank or any branch across India.

"The approval of the CPPS marks a significant milestone in modernisation of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). By enabling pensioners to receive their pensions from any bank, any branch, anywhere in the country, this initiative addresses the long-standing challenges faced by pensioners and ensures a seamless and efficient disbursement mechanism," the minister said.

This is a crucial step in our ongoing efforts to transform the EPFO into a more robust, responsive, and tech-enabled organisation, committed to serving the needs of its members and pensioners better, he added.

CPPS is expected to benefit more than 78 lakh EPS-95 pensioners of the EPFO. By harnessing advanced IT and banking technologies, it will offer a more efficient, seamless, and user-friendly experience for pensioners.

The centralised system would ensure disbursement of pension throughout India without any need for transfer of Pension Payment Orders (PPO) from one office to the other even when the pensioner moves from one location to another or changes his bank or branch.

This would be a great relief to pensioners who move to their hometown after retirement.

This facility will be launched as part of EPFO's ongoing IT modernisation project Centralized IT Enabled System (CITES 2.01) from January 1, 2025. In the next phase, CPPS will enable a smooth transition to Aadhaar-based payment system (ABPS), it said.

The new system is a paradigm shift from the existing pension disbursement process, under which each zonal/regional office of EPFO used to maintain separate agreements with only 3-4 banks, the ministry statement said.

Now, pensioners won't need to visit the bank branch for verification at the time of commencement of pension and the payment shall be immediately credited upon release, it added.

In addition, EPFO expects a significant cost reduction in pension disbursement after moving to the new system, it stated.

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