Good News For Pensioners: Withdraw Pensions From Any Bank! EPFO Fully Rolls Out CPPS; Here's How!

EPFO Update: Good news has arrived for pensioners in India, as the EPFO completed the full-scale rollout of the new Centralized Pension Payments System (CPPS) under the Employees' Pension Scheme 1995 in December 2024. CPPS will allow pensioners to withdraw their pensions from any bank and anywhere in India. In December 2024 alone, EPFO disbursed about Rs 1,570 crore worth of pensions to over 68 Lakh pensioners in its all 122 pension disbursing Regional offices.

Earlier, EPFO successfully launched the first pilot of the Centralized Pension Payment System (CPPS) in October 2024, in cities like Karnal, Jammu and Srinagar Regional Offices with the pension disbursement of about Rs 11 Crore to more than 49,000 EPS Pensioners. This followed a second pilot launch in November 2024, with 24 regional offices that disbursed about Rs 213 crores pension was disbursed to more than 9.3 lakh pensioners.

Now, CPPS is available in all regional offices of EPFO in the country. Announcing the successful rollout, Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said, "The full-scale implementation of the Centralized Pension Payments System (CPPS) across all Regional Offices of EPFO is a historic milestone. This transformative initiative empowers pensioners to access their pension seamlessly from any bank, any branch, anywhere in the country. It eliminates the need for physical verification visits and simplifies the pension disbursement process."

Mandaviya added, "CPPS is a testament to our commitment to modernizing EPFO services and ensuring convenience, transparency, and efficiency for our pensioners. With this rollout, we are setting a new benchmark in pension service delivery, aligning with the vision of a tech-enabled and member-centric EPFO."

What is CPPS?

As per the official statement, the CPPS is a paradigm shift from the existing pension disbursement system that is decentralized, with each Zonal/Regional Office of EPFO maintaining separate agreements with only 3-4 banks.

Under CPPS, not only the pensioner will be able to take a pension from any bank, but also, there will also be no need for pensioners to visit the bank for any verification at the time of commencement of pension and the pension shall be immediately credited upon release, as per the official update.

Further, from January 1, 2025, onward, the ministry stated that the CPPS system would also ensure the disbursement of pensions throughout India without any need for transfer of Pension Payment Orders (PPO) from one office to another 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, it said, "EPFO is continuously working towards improving services for EPS pensioners and the new CPPS system is a major reform in this direction."

Here are key details of withdrawing pension from EPFO:

Eligibility: A member is eligible for pension on superannuation at the age of 58 years. If a member leaves employment between 50 and 57 years he can avail of the early (reduced) pension.

Also, the member who continues in service even after 58 years can avail of the Pension from the age of 58. If a pensioner, who has availed the early pension, may take up employment thereafter and in such cases, he will not be eligible to join the Pension Scheme. And the 8.33% contribution from the Employer side will go towards the EPF fund.

Which Forms Required For Applying for Pension?

Form 10C: As per EPFO guidelines, you can apply for a Withdrawal Benefit or Scheme Certificate through Form 10C to retain the Pension Fund Membership. Retention of the membership will give the advantage of adding any future period of membership under the Fund and attaining eligible service of 10 years to get a pension.

Form 10D: This form is also provided by EPFO for claiming monthly pension. Form 10D can be applied by the first claimant i.e. member or widow/widower, orphan, or nominee as the case may be.

Form 21: This form is applicable for withdrawing partial pension from your EPF account.

How To Apply For Pension At EPFO?

Step 1: Activate your Universal Account Number (UAN) number which is allotted by EPFO. Then login into the EPFO employees services portal using the UAN number.

Step 2: Ensure that all your KYC details are updated with the latest changes. KYC details can be an Aadhaar card, PAN card, bank account or name and address change details.

Step 3: Then Select the Online Services option. Click on either of the forms (Forms 10D, 10C or 31).

Step 4: Following this, affix the undertaking by entering the last four digits of the registered bank account at EPFO. Then, select your preferred method of withdrawing pensions.

Step 5: Next, you will get an Aadhaar-OTP-based verification option. Click on it, and you will receive a one-time password at your registered mobile number. Enter the OTP in the small box for verification.

Step 6: Click the "Validate OTP and Submit Claim Form" option. You will receive a notification and a PDF that holds details of your claims.

After due diligence, EPFO either approves or rejects the claim settlement. No need to worry, you can always rectify and apply again for the pensions.