EPS 2026 replaced EPS-95: the 20-day settlement rule and 12% interest on delayed pension claims

What changed

According to Gazette notification G.S.R. 527(E) dated 29 June 2026, made under section 15 of the Code on Social Security, 2020, the Employees' Pension Scheme, 2026 supersedes the Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995, the scheme everyone calls EPS-95, and the Employees' Family Pension Scheme, 1971. It came into force on publication.

Paragraph 17, "Payment of pension", is the part that matters to a member with a claim. It has three limbs. First, claims complete in all respects, submitted with the requisite documents, "shall be settled and benefit amount paid to the beneficiaries within twenty days from the date of its receipt by the Commissioner". Second, where there is a deficiency in the claim, it must be recorded in writing and communicated to the applicant within twenty days. Third, where the Commissioner "fails without sufficient cause" to settle a complete claim within twenty days, the Commissioner is liable for the delay, and interest at twelve per cent per annum may be charged on the benefit amount, which may be deducted from the Commissioner's salary. Under EPS-95 there was a general expectation of timely settlement; now there is a number, and a personal cost to the officer for missing it.

I want to be precise about what this is. It is a timeline for a complete claim. It is not a promise that every pension claim will be paid in 20 days, because a claim that is returned or rejected has not been settled late; it has not been settled at all, and the reason is usually in the record.

Who is affected

• Members at 58 (or 50 for early pension) filing Form 10D for monthly pension.
• Members with under ten years of service claiming the benefit on leaving service before pension eligibility (paragraph 13), or a scheme certificate. Paragraph 17 speaks of claims generally, so I would hold EPFO to it for these too.
• Families filing a death claim that includes pension.
• Anyone with a pension claim already pending on 29 June 2026. The paragraph counts from receipt of a complete claim, so for a claim that was already complete, that date is the one to quote.

If your claim shows "Under process" today and the record is clean, this change is for you.

What to do

1. Check the record before you file. On the member portal, open View → Service History and confirm every employer shows a date of joining, a date of exit, and EPS contributions. A missing exit date is the commonest reason a pension claim comes back.
2. Check Annexure K for every transfer. If pension service from an earlier job never travelled with the PF transfer, the EPS service will be short. See Annexure K correction.
3. File the claim with everything attached. Bank details, Aadhaar-linked mobile, and for Form 10D the scheme certificate if you hold one. An incomplete claim does not start the 20-day clock.
4. Note the date the claim is complete. Keep the acknowledgement and screenshots of the status page.
5. If 20 days pass with no settlement and no written deficiency note, raise a grievance on EPFiGMS quoting the claim ID, the date it was complete, and paragraph 17 of the Employees' Pension Scheme, 2026. Ask for the interest at 12% a year on the benefit amount. The gazette says it "may be charged", so ask in writing rather than wait for it.
6. If the status says rejected or returned, stop chasing the timeline and fix the reason. My guide to EPFiGMS statuses explains what each one means.

What this does not change

• EPFO still decides every claim. A timeline is not an approval.
• Eligibility for pension, the pension formula and the higher-pension process are separate matters, and the 2026 Scheme has already been amended on eligibility for members under the revised wage ceiling. Pensions already sanctioned under EPS-95 continue under the new Scheme's definition of pension.
• A claim that is incomplete, rejected or returned is outside the 20-day rule until it is complete.
• The employer's role in approving the claim and in marking the date of exit is unchanged, and an employer who does not act still stalls your claim.

What you can do yourself for free

When specialist help may be useful

• The claim has been returned more than once and the reason given does not match what you see in the record.
• EPS service is missing for one employer and that employer has closed or will not respond.
• A transfer went through years ago but the pension service never followed it.
• The 20 days have passed, the grievance was closed as "disposed", and nothing was paid.

In each of these the problem is the record, not the timeline, and that is where the work is.

Pension claim delayed, or stuck on the record?

In my experience the claims that sit for months are rarely 'delayed' in the sense the new scheme means. They are incomplete: a date of exit never marked, EPS service missing for one employer, an Annexure K that never travelled with a transfer. The 20-day rule does not touch those until the record is right.

I help members read their service history, find what is actually holding the claim, and fix it through the employer and EPFO's own routes before refiling. If your claim really is complete and simply late, I will tell you how to chase it and the interest. No outcome is guaranteed; EPFO decides every claim.

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