Summary of this article
The EPS-95 National Agitation Committee has called a nationwide protest on August 5 at Jantar Mantar to demand a hike in the minimum pension.
The committee is also seeking Dearness Allowance, free medical facilities for pensioners and spouses, and higher pension benefits for eligible retirees.
Pensioners say the current pension is too low to handle rising living and healthcare costs.
The pensioners’ body, EPS-95 National Agitation Committee, has been raising the demand for a minimum pension hike for a long time. The Committee has now officially announced a nationwide protest at Jantar Mantar on August 5, 2026. Thousands of retirees under the Employees’ Provident Scheme, 1995 (EPS-95), are expected to gather to demand an immediate increase in the minimum monthly pension, which, according to the pensioners’ body, has left millions of retired individuals in financial despair.
The Committee’s core demand is a hike in minimum pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 7,500. At present, the minimum monthly pension is Rs 1,000, a rate which was determined and enforced almost 12 years ago on September 1, 2014. The EPS is managed by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), and for long, pensioners have been demanding a hike in the pension amount, considering high inflation and the rising cost of living.
Now the committee has outlined a list of demands, with a minimum pension hike being the central demand, to ensure a basic standard of social security, according to a report in PTI. Its other demands include the provision of dearness allowance (DA) to keep pace with economic movements, free medical facilities for all pensioners and their spouses, and implementation of higher pension benefits for eligible retirees, in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment.
Reportedly, the committee’s national president, Commander Ashok Raut, said that there are approximately 8.10 million EPS-95 pensioners who have been pursuing these reforms for more than 10 years. Raut emphasised that despite years of representations, peaceful protests, and appeals, the government has ignored their demands and hasn’t taken any concrete action.
The committee highlighted the stark reality of the current system, where a large number of beneficiaries try to survive on an average monthly pension of approximately Rs 1,171. The body has argued that workers who dedicated decades of service to the country’s industrial and economic growth are entitled to a retirement income for financial security and a dignified old age, rather than “special treatment”.
The agitation committee has staged a three-day protest for the same demands (minimum pension hike to Rs 7,500) in March 2026, this year, too.
There are different groups of employees covered under EPS, such as public sector undertakings (PSUs) of the central and state government, employees in private sector companies, factories, and cooperatives, among others. During the protest in March, the committee pressed for a pension hike urgently, alleging that an average of 200-250 pensioners die prematurely every day across the country as they can’t afford healthcare.
According to the government, over 4.70 million pensioners under EPS-95 are receiving a pension of Rs 9,000 per month.
