Shillong, May 8: In a major climbdown, the Meghalaya government has decided to leave it to teachers and lecturers of deficit schools and colleges to opt out of the Meghalaya Non-Government Schools and Colleges Employees Centralised Provident Fund (CPF) Scheme 2026.
Organisations representing the educators have been opposed to the CPF, which they have rejected as a poor substitute for the National Pension System.
In a notification issued today, the Education Department said that retired employees of deficit schools and colleges will have the option to opt out of the CPF. The retired employees will also have the option to withdraw 100 per cent of the accumulated amount in their CPF accounts.
In-service employees can also opt out and “invest in any other financial, pension or retirement scheme of their choice.” For such employees, the monthly CPF contribution “shall be released along with salary into their salary account or such other bank account as may be specified by the employee” after withdrawal of the accumulated amount, the department said.
The government had notified the CPF Scheme on March 18 and April 9 this year “for ensuring long-term financial security and social protection of employees of non-government schools and colleges in the state.”
As per the notification, staff who choose to remain in the CPF Scheme must open a Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) through designated SBI branches. After transfers to PRAN accounts and withdrawals by those opting out are completed, “the Central CPF Account maintained at SBI Laitumkhrah Branch, Shillong, shall be closed and no further transactions shall thereafter be carried out through the said account.”
Applications for withdrawal from the CPF Scheme must be submitted in the prescribed Form-I. The Directorate of School Education & Literacy (DSEL) will verify claims and issue authorisation for school employees, while the Directorate of Higher & Technical Education (DHTE) will do so for college employees.
“Only upon issuance of such authorisation shall the State Bank of India, Laitumkhrah Branch, Shillong permit withdrawal from the Central CPF Account, namely, the Meghalaya Non-Government Teachers EPF Account,” the order stated.
Before withdrawal, the SBI Branch Manager must mandatorily explain to the retired employee the “estimated monthly pension likely to accrue under the best available annuity scheme in the event of annuitisation of 50 percent of the accumulated corpus and withdrawal of the remaining 50 percent” and “the long-term financial implications of opting out of the annuity-based pension framework.”
Retired staff must then submit an undertaking confirming they “have been fully informed of the pensionary benefits available under the annuity option,” are “fully aware of the financial implications of withdrawing the entire accumulated amount,” and “voluntarily opt out of the CPF Scheme.”
