In June, the government notified the Employees’ Provident Funds (EPF) Scheme, 2026 and the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 2026, replacing the older frameworks and bringing them under the Code on Social Security, 2020 (CoSS)—which came into force last November, replacing the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.Then, the Labour Ministry notified Rs.25,000 per month as the revised statutory wage ceiling, from Rs.15,000 earlier, which is applicable under the CoSS and effective from 17 September.
This was a “correction” aligned with today’s cost of living, given that the Rs.15,000 ceiling was last hiked in September 2014. This revision was also required to be considered by the Centre as per a recent Supreme Court ruling, which noted the disparity between this threshold and the minimum wages in many states. Here’s how it impacts wages and stakeholders.
