More reforms, minimum pension likely to feature at EPFO's November 19 CBT meet

The Central Board of Trustees of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation is likely to meet on November 19. According to a communication from the Ministry of Labour, the 240th meeting of the CBT will be held in Gir, Gujarat.

While the agenda for the meeting is yet to be finalised, sources said the CBT is likely to discuss further reforms to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme, including the revamped website and initiatives under CITES 2.01. These measures have overhauled the retirement fund manager’s digital architecture and helped centralise and consolidate its databases.

The CBT is the EPFO’s apex decision-making body. It is chaired by Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and includes representatives of state governments, trade unions and employers.

Significantly, this will be the CBT’s first meeting of the current fiscal year. The CBT last met in March, when it approved an interest rate of 8.25% for FY26.

CBT members, however, highlighted the need to discuss the new wage threshold of Rs 25,000 per month for EPFO coverage. They also underlined the need to review the minimum pension under the Employees’ Pension Scheme.

“The wage threshold for EPFO coverage was not discussed with the CBT earlier,” a member noted, adding that the guaranteed pension under the EPS, which is only Rs 1,000, also needs to be increased. “There is an urgent need to review this, and we will highlight it at the meeting,” the member said.