IT problems continue to afflict Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) staff, many of whom are in charge of processing and approving applications for higher pensions. The topic is likely to be discussed in the EPFO's Central Board of Trustees meeting on October 31.

According to PF officials, the IT systems and software are old, and the EPFO lacks adequate servers to ensure smooth operation.

"The systems are inadequate for the scope of work performed by the EPFO." "Any pension application can take up to half an hour to process, when it should take much less time," claimed a senior official with the retirement fund manager.

According to Business Today, in July of this year, the Employees' Provident Fund Officers' Association (EPFOA) wrote to Union Minister of Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav. It had raised these concerns and requested that the retirement fund manager's IT system and infrastructure be upgraded. 

Officials note that, despite having over 7 crore active members and over 77.2 lakh pensioners, the EPFO's investment on IT system upgrades is low when compared to even public sector banks. The EPFO's IT spending in FY 23 was Rs 134 crore, compared to State Bank of India's IT budget of Rs 3,500 crore.

"If a private player can be roped in to design the IT interface for Passport services, the income tax department and the GST Network, why can't the same be done in the case of the EPFO?" said another government official. 

The report of a committee formed by the CBT to review IT issues at the EPFO was endorsed but not implemented, according to officials, who add that an urgent upgrade is required to ensure that not only regular work but also the additional job of validating higher pension applications can be completed without difficulty. The EPFO has received and is now processing 1.74 million applications for enhanced pensions.