India’s Social Security Coverage

Strengthening Worker Protection

India’s social security framework is expanding through EPFO coverage, digital reforms and welfare schemes for organised and unorganised workers.

• Social protection coverage increased from 19% in 2015 to 68.4% in 2026, bringing over one billion people within its framework.
• Key initiatives include EPFO, e-Shram, PM-SYM and the Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana.

Social Security as a Pillar of Worker Protection

• Changing employment patterns, particularly informal, gig and platform-based work, increase the need for income security.
• Social security protects workers against income loss, retirement-related vulnerabilities and other life contingencies.
• EPFO, under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, provides provident fund, pension and insurance benefits to eligible workers.

Three Pillars of EPFO-led Social Security

EPFO provides three major forms of protection:

Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme (EPF), 2026

• Enables retirement savings through employee and employer contributions with accrued interest.
• Permits partial withdrawals for housing, education, marriage and medical needs.

Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 2026

• Provides monthly pensions on superannuation, retirement or disability.
• Extends pension benefits to eligible dependents of deceased members.

Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI), 2026

• Provides insurance protection to eligible EPF members in case of death during service.
• Offers benefits up to ₹7 lakh without a separate insurance premium.

Expanding EPFO Coverage Across the Workforce

• Contributing members: Increased from 3.49 crore in 2014–15 to approximately 7.98 crore in September 2026.
• Establishments: 7.68 lakh establishments were contributing to EPFO as of September 2026.
• Pensioners: Increased from 51.04 lakh in 2014–15 to around 82 lakh by September 2026.
• Claims settlement: Increased from 1.30 crore in 2014–15 to 6.42 crore during the latest one-year period reported in October 2026.

Strengthening EPFO through Digital and Service Reforms

A. Wage Ceiling Revision

• In September 2026, the mandatory EPFO coverage wage ceiling was increased from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month.
• Expected to bring over 51 lakh additional employees under mandatory coverage.

B. Streamlining PF Withdrawals and Claim Settlement

• Consolidated 13 partial withdrawal provisions into three categories:
  1. Essential Needs – illness, education and marriage.
  2. Housing Needs.
  3. Special Circumstances.
• Increased withdrawal limits to 10 times for education and 5 times for marriage, compared to a combined limit of three earlier.
• Allows eligible members to withdraw up to 75% of their PF balance.
• Standardised minimum service requirement at 12 months.
• Increased automated claim settlement limit to ₹5 lakh.
• Removed the requirement for cheque-leaf images or attested bank passbooks for eligible online claims.

C. Strengthening Compliance and Ease of Doing Business

VISHWAS, 2026

• Enables one-time settlement of eligible disputes involving damages and penalties under EPF legislation and the Social Security Code.
• Offers reduced damage rates of 0.25%, 0.50% or 1% for eligible pre-14 June 2024 defaults.
• Promotes voluntary compliance and reduces litigation through digital settlement.

AMNESTY, 2026

• Helps establishments regularise PF trusts lacking formal exemption under EPF legislation.
• Provides retrospective exemption subject to statutory contribution and interest conditions.
• Open until 28 December 2026.

D. Simplifying Registration with Digital Access

• Eligible companies can obtain automatic EPFO registration through the MCA portal using SPICe+ and AGILE-PRO forms.
• Workers can independently generate UANs, including through Aadhaar-based Face Authentication Technology on the UMANG app.
• Around 1.74 crore self-generated UANs were reported by October 2026.
• UAN provides a permanent account number, facilitating portability of PF savings across establishments.
• Aadhaar seeding and correction have been simplified through the UAN Member Portal.

E. Digital Transformation of EPFO Services

• Centralised Pension Payment System (CPPS): Enables pension disbursement through any bank branch across India without transferring PPOs.
• Doorstep Digital Life Certificate: EPFO and India Post Payments Bank provide free doorstep certificate services to pensioners.
• Redesigned EPFO Website: Provides a unified, mobile-responsive platform for employees, employers and pensioners.
• EPFO 3.0: Introduces core banking-based, cloud-native and API-driven services.
  • Aims to enable instant withdrawals, multilingual services and automated claims.
  • Risk-validated claims may be processed in under three days instead of up to 20 days.
  • Designed to support over 30 crore members.

Beyond EPFO: India's Wider Social Security Framework

A. Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana

• Revised from the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) in October 2026 and continued for 2026–27 to 2030–31.
• Provides financial assistance to elderly persons, widows, persons with disabilities and bereaved families.

- Disability pension eligibility threshold reduced from 80% to 40%, with no minimum age requirement.

B. Code on Social Security, 2020

• Consolidates nine central labour laws into a unified social security framework.
• Covers provident fund, pension, insurance, maternity benefits and gratuity.
• Extends provisions to organised, unorganised, gig and platform workers.
• Provides proportionate gratuity to eligible fixed-term employees after one year of service.
• Women-centric provisions include:
  • Maternity benefits up to 26 weeks.
  • Work-from-home options where the nature of work permits.
  • Crèche facilities in eligible establishments.
• Provides for a social security fund for gig and platform workers.

C. e-Shram: An Integrated Platform for Unorganised Workers

• Launched in August 2021 as India's first Aadhaar-seeded National Database of Unorganised Workers.
• Provides registered workers with a Universal Account Number (UAN).
• Recorded 31.89 crore registrations as of August 2026.
• The One-Stop Solution, launched in October 2024, integrates 15 social security and welfare schemes.
• Connects workers with employment, skilling and government welfare platforms.

D. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM)

• Voluntary contributory pension scheme for unorganised workers aged 18–40 years with monthly income up to ₹15,000.
• Provides an assured minimum pension of ₹3,000 per month after 60 years.
• Monthly contributions range from ₹55 to ₹200, matched equally by the Central Government.
• Supports old-age income security in the unorganised sector, which contributes around 50% of India's GDP.

Towards Universal Social Security

• India is expanding social protection through wider EPFO coverage, pension reforms and welfare schemes.
• Digital platforms are simplifying registration, claim settlement and benefit delivery.
• Extending protection to informal, gig and platform workers is essential for inclusive social security.

Reference

PIB