India's Social-Security Coverage Expands as EPFO Wage Ceiling Rises

India's mandatory Employees' Provident Fund coverage is expected to widen after the monthly wage ceiling was raised from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 in September 2026. A Press Information Bureau backgrounder estimates that the revision could bring more than 51 lakh additional employees within the mandatory coverage framework, subject to the applicable legal provisions.

The backgrounder reports that contributing EPFO membership increased from 3.49 crore in 2014–15 to about 7.98 crore by 16 September 2026. It also says roughly 82 lakh pensioners were receiving pension benefits by September and that 6.42 crore claims were settled over the latest one-year period covered by the document.

Alongside wider coverage, EPFO has been expanding digital registration, automated claim settlement and centralised pension-payment services. The official document also describes social-assistance and unorganised-worker programmes beyond EPFO. The figures are government-reported and should be read alongside scheme eligibility rules, implementation data and future independent assessments of access and service quality.