VSP Pensioners Seek Reopening of Higher Pension Option

Retired employees of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), under the All Pensioners and Retired Persons Association, on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, urging the reopening of the option for Pension on Higher Wages (PoHW) and reissuance of demand letters.

The association said 1,099 applications had been rejected, while several eligible pensioners were unable to apply within the deadline due to constraints associated with the digital-only process. The entire procedure — including submission, verification, and payment — was conducted through the EPFO online portal, which, they said, posed technical and procedural challenges.

According to the association, many senior citizens struggled with online systems such as document uploads, Aadhaar-based verification, and digital payments, resulting in their inability to complete the process on time.

They pointed out that the process followed the Supreme Court judgment on EPF higher pension in November 2022, with the option window opening in April 2023 and demand notices issued around September 2023. However, disbursement of higher pension began only in February 2025.

Seeking relief, the association urged the EPFO to consider these factors on grounds of equity and fairness, and to provide another opportunity to RINL pensioners.

Among those who met the Regional PF Commissioner were association district secretary SK Hussain, CITU former general secretary N. Rama Rao, former president Y.T. Das, INTUC general secretary Mantri Rajasekhar, and pensioners M. Krishna Rao, D. Ch. Venkateswara Rao, B. Gurappa, and Ch. Narayana Rao.