Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) pensioners can now withdraw their pension from any bank. EPFO has completed the implementation of the Centralized Pension Payment System (CPPS) in all its regional offices across the country.
On Friday, the Labor Ministry announced that this system will benefit more than 68 lakh pensioners. The ministry stated that CPPS is a major change from the current pension distribution system, which is decentralized. Previously, each divisional or regional office of EPFO made separate agreements with only three or four banks.
EPFO Introduces Centralized Pension Payment System (CPPS) for Easy Access
Under the Centralized Pension Payment System (CPPS), beneficiaries can now withdraw their pension from any bank without needing to visit the bank for verification when their pension begins. The pension amount will be deposited immediately upon release.
No Need for PPO Transfers with CPPS
From January 2025, the CPPS system will ensure pension distribution across India. Pensioners will no longer need to transfer their Pension Payment Order (PPO) when moving to a new location or changing their bank or branch. This change will especially benefit pensioners who return to their hometowns after retirement.
Good news for State Govt employees:
❌New Pension Scheme is being rolled back
✅Unified Pension Scheme to be applicable for all new employees
✅Those employees whose recruitment process started prior to 2005 but could not be completed will be shifted to Old Pension Scheme pic.twitter.com/Vtd4Jg66wy— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 26, 2025
Successful Pilot Projects
The first pilot project of CPPS was completed in October last year at the Karnal, Jammu, and Srinagar regional offices. During this trial, about Rs 11 crore was distributed to over 49,000 EPS pensioners. A second pilot project started in November in 24 regional offices, distributing Rs 213 crore to over 9.3 lakh pensioners.
Full-Scale Implementation of CPPS
In a historic move to enhance pension services, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) fully implemented the CPPS under the Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995 in December. During this rollout, Rs 1,570 crore was distributed to over 68 lakh pensioners from all 122 pension-disbursing regional offices of EPFO for December 2024.