The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has unveiled a new initiative to engage retired officers and government employees on a contractual basis to help fill manpower gaps and strengthen its operations amid growing workloads.
Under the plan, EPFO aims to tackle over 4,000 vacancies across various cadres, with the initial phase focusing on its investment division — which manages a massive corpus of more than ₹28 lakh crore — to ensure efficient oversight and stable returns for members’ retirement savings.
Eligible candidates include retired officers from public sector financial institutions and regulatory bodies such as the State Bank of India (SBI) at the rank of General Manager or above, as well as retirees from organisations like Reserve Bank of India and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
In addition, EPFO will consider engaging individual experts as full‑time consultants — both for investment functions and specialist advisory roles — on contracts extending up to three years or until the age of 65, whichever comes first.
Selected retirees and consultants are expected to bring their experience to key functions such as:
Monitoring the performance of portfolio and treasury operations
Risk management and compliance oversight
Evaluating benchmarks for investment in debt and other asset classes
Strengthening default monitoring and procedural checks across the investment framework
These engagements are intended to augment EPFO’s capabilities at a time when the organisation is handling a rapidly growing subscriber base under initiatives like the PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana.
Most appointments are contractual in nature, with strict clauses preventing retirees from taking up other assignments during the engagement period with EPFO. The organisation will set clear terms regarding full‑time dedication and deliverables for those hired as experts or advisors.
With the new drive, EPFO seeks to leverage seasoned expertise to maintain high‑quality governance and professional oversight, particularly in areas where specialised knowledge is critical. This move also reflects ongoing efforts to reform and enhance the efficiency of India’s largest retirement fund institution.
