EPS-2026 Rules Explained: What Happens If You Leave Your Job Before 10 Years?

EPS-2026 Rules: The Central Government has now notified the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 2026 under the Code on Social Security, 2020. The new Gazette says it replaces the older Employees’ Family Pension Scheme, 1971 and the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995. It also says the new scheme began on the date it was published in the Official Gazette.

The main pension path has not changed much. The new scheme still keeps the old pension system alive for covered employees, and it continues to apply to people who were already members of EPS-1995 or were entitled under EPS-1971 before the new scheme started.

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If Service Stops Before 10 Years

If a worker leaves a job before finishing 10 years of eligible service, the EPFO says two routes are still open. One is the withdrawal benefit. The other is a Scheme Certificate. This certificate keeps the pension service record safe, so the earlier service can be added later if the person joins another EPF-covered job.

In very simple words, the service is not thrown away. It can travel with the worker and be joined with future service later. The EPFO claim page also says that people with less than 10 years of eligible service can apply for withdrawal benefit or Scheme Certificate through Form 10C.

The same rules also cover people who reach 58 years of age. EPFO’s Form 10C instructions say that a member who has attained 58 years before completing 10 years of service, or the family or nominee of a deceased member in some cases, can still use the withdrawal benefit route.

How To File Form 10C Online?

• Step 1: Go to the EPFO member portal or e-SEWA login page and sign in with your UAN, password, and captcha. EPFO’s online claim instructions say members should first log in to the member interface before choosing the claim option.
• Step 2: Open the menu item that says “Claim Form (Form-31, 19, 10C & 10D)”. The EPFO instructions use this exact path for online claims.
• Step 3: Check the auto-filled member details on the screen. This includes personal data and bank details. EPFO’s claim instructions say the member must enter and verify the last four digits of the bank account, then click “Proceed For Online Claim”.
• Step 4: Give consent on the “Certificate of Undertaking” and move ahead. After that, the claim screen opens and the user can choose “Withdraw Pension Only” through Form 10C. EPFO also says the payment goes only to the bank account already registered in the EPFO records.
• Step 5: Fill Form 10C, finish the OTP check, and submit the request. Once the claim is sent successfully, EPFO sends an SMS to the registered mobile number, and the amount is later credited to the bank account after processing.

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The minimum monthly pension has not been raised in the new framework. Recent reports say it still stays at ₹1,000, the same floor that has been in place since 2014.