Social Security for All: Building a More Secure Future for India’s Workers
Expanding social protection is an important step towards inclusive development, but its real success will depend on accessibility, adequacy and the ability to protect workers across formal and informal employment.
S Ahmad
India’s social security framework has expanded through wider EPFO coverage, digital reforms and welfare initiatives. EPFO provides provident fund savings, pension and insurance benefits to eligible members. The increase in the mandatory coverage wage ceiling from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 is expected to bring over 51 lakh additional employees within its ambit.
A secure livelihood is about much more than earning a monthly income. It is also about having the assurance that an individual and their family will not be left financially vulnerable when employment ends, illness strikes, disability affects earning capacity or old age makes regular work difficult. For millions of workers, particularly those employed in the informal sector, this assurance remains one of the most important concerns of everyday life.
Economic growth, industrial expansion and technological advancement have transformed the nature of employment in India. Traditional forms of employment are increasingly accompanied by contractual arrangements, self-employment, gig work and platform-based occupations. While these changes have created new opportunities, they have also brought uncertainty in earnings, employment continuity and access to workplace benefits. A person may find work today but have little assurance about tomorrow. In such circumstances, social security is no longer simply an additional employment benefit; it is an essential component of economic stability and human dignity.
India’s expanding social-protection framework represents an important effort to address this challenge. According to the figures provided, social-protection coverage increased from 19 per cent in 2015 to 68.4 per cent in 2026, bringing more than one billion people within its reach. This expansion reflects the growing importance attached to social protection in the country’s development priorities. However, the larger question is not merely how many people are covered, but whether the protection available to them is sufficient, accessible and dependable when they need it most.
Social security must ultimately be judged by the difference it makes in people’s lives. A worker who spends decades contributing to the economy should not have to face financial insecurity after retirement. A family should not be pushed into hardship because its principal earning member dies. Similarly, a person who loses employment or faces a medical emergency should have some institutional protection rather than being left entirely dependent on personal savings or family support.
This is where institutions such as the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) acquire particular significance.
EPFO and the foundation of long-term financial security
The EPFO occupies an important position in India’s social-security architecture. Functioning under the Ministry of
Labour and Employment, it administers provident fund, pension and insurance benefits for eligible employees. Its importance lies in the fact that it connects a worker’s years of employment with financial protection extending beyond the period of active service.
For a salaried employee, regular provident fund contributions may appear to be a routine deduction from monthly earnings. Yet, over time, these contributions accumulate into savings that can provide financial support during retirement and certain emergencies. The system also offers a degree of continuity when employees change jobs, allowing their provident fund accumulations to remain connected through a Universal Account Number (UAN).
The EPFO’s social-security framework rests on three important pillars: provident fund savings, pension benefits and insurance protection. Together, these address different stages of a worker’s life and provide support against different forms of financial vulnerability.
The Employees’ Provident Funds Scheme enables eligible members to accumulate retirement savings through regular contributions and interest. It also provides for partial withdrawals for specified needs, including medical treatment, education, marriage and housing, subject to prescribed conditions. Such provisions recognise that workers may encounter financial difficulties long before retirement and may need access to a portion of their accumulated savings.
The Employees’ Pension Scheme provides monthly pension benefits to eligible members upon superannuation, retirement or disability. It also extends pension support to eligible family members of deceased members. For elderly people who no longer have a regular source of income, a pension can make a significant difference to their ability to meet everyday expenses.
The Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme adds another layer of protection by providing insurance benefits to eligible EPF members in the event of death while in service. The benefit, which can go up to Rs 7 lakh under the framework described in the supplied material, offers financial assistance to families at a particularly difficult time without requiring a separate insurance premium from the member.
These three components demonstrate why social security must be viewed as an integrated system rather than a collection of unrelated schemes. Savings provide support after working life, pensions offer a recurring source of income, and insurance protects dependants against sudden loss.
Expanding coverage: Reaching more workers
One of the most significant indicators of social-security expansion is the growth in EPFO membership. According to the figures provided, contributing membership increased from 3.49 crore in 2014-15 to approximately 7.98 crore as of September 16, 2026. This represents an increase of around 4.49 crore contributing members.
The institutional network has expanded as well, with approximately 7.68 lakh establishments contributing to EPFO as of September 2026. This wider base is important because the effectiveness of a social-security institution depends not only on its policies but also on the number of workers and establishments brought within its framework.
Pension coverage has also grown. The number of pensioners receiving benefits increased from 51.04 lakh in 2014-15 to around 82 lakh by September 2026. This increase of more than 31 lakh pensioners reflects the expanding role of pension support in providing financial stability to retired workers and eligible family members.
The volume of claims settled offers another indication of the scale at which the institution operates. EPFO settled 1.30 crore claims during 2014-15, compared with 6.42 crore claims in the one-year period reported up to October 2026.
These figures point towards a substantial expansion in membership, pension disbursement and service delivery. They also underline the growing expectations placed on the institution. As membership increases, the responsibility to ensure timely claim settlement, accurate records, transparent procedures and responsive grievance redressal becomes even greater.
Expansion must therefore be accompanied by institutional capacity. Workers should not have to navigate complicated procedures or repeatedly approach offices to access benefits that are legally available to them. The larger the social-security network becomes, the more important it is to make its functioning simple and reliable.
Making provident fund access more responsive to workers’ needs
A major challenge in any contributory social-security system is maintaining a balance between long-term savings and immediate financial requirements. Workers need to build retirement funds, but they also face emergencies during their working years. A medical crisis, the education of children, marriage-related expenses or the need to purchase a house can create financial pressure.
EPFO’s efforts to simplify partial withdrawals seek to address this reality. The consolidation of 13 provisions governing partial withdrawals into three broad categories — Essential Needs, Housing Needs and Special Circumstances — is intended to make the framework easier to understand and navigate.
The revised withdrawal provisions also increase flexibility for specified purposes. Under the framework described in the supplied material, eligible members can make up to 10 withdrawals for education and five for marriage, compared with the earlier combined limit of three withdrawals for both purposes. The framework also allows eligible members to withdraw up to 75 per cent of their provident fund balance, including employee and employer contributions, subject to applicable conditions. The minimum service requirement has been standardised at 12 months.
Such changes recognise that financial security cannot be separated from the realities of family life. A worker may have accumulated savings but still struggle to meet an urgent expense. Allowing access to a portion of those savings can prevent dependence on high-interest borrowing and provide relief during difficult circumstances.
However, flexibility must not undermine the fundamental purpose of provident fund savings. Retirement income security requires a sufficient accumulated balance. Workers should therefore be made aware of the long-term consequences of frequent withdrawals and encouraged to preserve their savings wherever possible.
The increase in the auto-settlement limit for eligible advance claims to Rs 5 lakh is another important service-related reform. Automated processing can reduce delays and minimise unnecessary human intervention. Similarly, removing the requirement to upload cheque-leaf images or attested bank passbooks for eligible online claims reduces paperwork and makes the process more convenient.
For an ordinary employee, such changes are not merely administrative improvements. They determine how quickly financial assistance reaches a household when it is needed.
Digital transformation and the changing face of public services
Technology is increasingly becoming central to the delivery of social-security benefits. EPFO’s digital initiatives reflect an effort to make services accessible without requiring members to depend entirely on physical offices or lengthy paperwork.
The Universal Account Number is an important part of this transformation. It provides a permanent identification number to an EPFO member and connects provident fund accounts across different establishments. This is particularly useful for employees who change jobs, as it helps maintain continuity in their provident fund records and accumulated savings, subject to the verification requirements.
The facility for workers to generate their own UAN, introduced in November 2019, has further simplified enrolment. The introduction of Aadhaar-based Face Authentication Technology through the UMANG application in April 2025 added another digital route for UAN generation and activation. According to the supplied figures, 1.74 crore self-generated UANs had been reported by October 2026.
Digital access through UMANG has also expanded considerably, with approximately 709 crore EPFO transactions reported from January 2017 to October 21, 2026. This indicates the scale at which members are using digital platforms to access services.
The facility to seed or correct Aadhaar details through the UAN Member Portal is another step towards reducing dependence on physical documentation. Employers can approve requests when the relevant details match, while mismatched information can be referred to the concerned EPFO office for correction.
Yet, digitalisation must not create a new form of exclusion. India has a large workforce with varying levels of digital literacy, internet access and familiarity with online systems. Older employees, workers in rural areas and people with limited access to smartphones may find digital procedures difficult.
A successful digital system must therefore combine online convenience with accessible human assistance. Local support facilities, clear instructions, multilingual guidance and effective grievance redressal are essential to ensure that technology serves every worker rather than only those who are digitally comfortable.
Pension delivery and dignity in old age
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