Higher Pension, Longer Wait: NCPA Appeals to President Over Retirees’ Fight for Dignity

B. N. Agrawal, President of the National Confederation of Pensioners’ Associations, seeks urgent intervention over rejected claims, mounting interest and prolonged litigation

BHILAI, CHHATTISGARH | October 23, 2026: The National Confederation of Pensioners’ Associations (NCPA) has appealed to the President of India for urgent intervention in the prolonged dispute over Pension on Higher Wages under the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995, alleging that administrative restrictions and repeated litigation are denying elderly retirees their rightful benefits.

Representing what it describes as more than a million retired employees of Public Sector Undertakings and exempted provident fund establishments, the confederation has urged the Presidency to take up the matter with the Ministry of Labour & Employment and the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

At the centre of its appeal is a stark concern: pensioners who spent decades building India’s industrial economy are growing older while their claims remain unresolved.

“These Senior Citizens are not pleading for a handout or State bounty; they are requesting what the Parliament enacted and the Supreme Court mandated,” B. N. Agrawal, President, NCPA, said in the statement accompanying the appeal.

For retirees who served for 30 to 40 years in steel plants, refineries, mines and other core industries, the confederation said, the dispute has become a struggle for financial security and dignity in old age.

According to the NCPA, many affected pensioners receive between ₹2,000 and ₹5,000 a month, while some face interest demands that it says can accumulate at up to ₹40,000 per month. The organisation contends that retirees are being made to bear the financial consequences of administrative delays beyond their control.

The appeal characterises the prolonged legal struggle as “attrition by mortality”—a situation in which elderly claimants risk dying before receiving the benefits they seek.

A principal demand is the withdrawal of EPFO’s circular dated January 18, 2025. The NCPA alleges that provisions in the historical trust rules of exempted establishments are being used to reject higher-pension applications.

The confederation cites the Supreme Court’s decisions in R.C. Gupta in 2016 and Sunil Kumar B. in 2022 in support of its position. It also refers to a Madras High Court Division Bench ruling dated July 9, 2026, which, according to its appeal, affirmed that internal trust rules cannot override statutory provisions.

The NCPA further claims that 26 judgments across 10 High Courts, covering more than 200 writ petitions after the 2022 Supreme Court ruling, have supported pensioners’ claims.

Agrawal’s organisation has also raised concerns about unequal treatment. While more than 149,806 higher-pension orders have reportedly been issued nationwide, it alleges that retirees from several exempted establishments—including SAIL, IOCL, BHEL, HAL, BEL, HMT and ITI—continue to face rejection.

The appeal says differing outcomes, including among retirees of the same company posted in different regions, raise serious questions of equality and protection of pension entitlements.

The confederation has sought three immediate measures: withdrawal of the January 2025 circular; a litigation audit to identify and withdraw appeals it considers unnecessary; and time-bound settlement of eligible claims without interest attributable to administrative delays.

Invoking the responsibility of public institutions to protect citizens, NCPA President B. N. Agrawal has urged decisive intervention to restore confidence among retirees and their families.

The allegations and figures are those presented by the NCPA. An EPFO response was not included in the material supplied for this report.

For the pensioners behind the appeal, the urgency is deeply personal: every additional year of waiting reduces the time left to benefit from a pension intended to support their retirement