New EPFO norms, mobile app to make your life easier

Employees will no longer need approval of employers to withdraw money

There are common grouses investors have against the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). They feel the pension body is not transparent, is difficult to deal with, and a simple transaction takes months to get process.

“Look at the income tax department. The filing and refund are online, without any human intervention. It’s quick and transparent. But, if you have to transfer one EPFO account to another, it takes months,” says Suresh Sadagopan, a certified financial planner.

But things have been changing at EPFO and the pension body has introduced reforms that can make life much easier for its subscribers. Central Provident Fund Commissioner K K Jalan says, “EPFO is a financial organisation without a loaning facility. We are much less than a bank, and so our processes and functioning need to be much smoother than a bank. We are working towards it.”

Recently, the organisation has made the withdrawal procedure much easier. Employees will no longer need the approval of their employers to withdraw money from their EPF corpuses. If subscribers’ details such as Aadhaar unique identity number and bank account number have been linked to the EPF universal account number (UAN) and know-your-customer verification has been done by the employer, then subscribers can take the benefit of this initiative. Previously, employees could not get their refund unless the employer attested their forms, which led to unwanted delays.

The body has also launched one-page simplified forms for withdrawal that need only five to six types of information to be submitted. A subscribers can provide mobile number, UAN and cancelled cheque of his/her bank account and address as basic details and submit the form. Based on his KYC submitted by employer, the money will be transferred into the bank account provided. Many employees have complained that organisations at times use their approval powers as a tool to harass them.

Experts say though this makes the process simpler and speedier but not many employees have yet activated their UAN. To avail the newly introduced facilities by the EPFO, the employees must get their UAN. In many cases, employers have not submitted the KYC details or have not availed of the digital signature.

EPFO is also planning to do away with all the paperwork by March-end for withdrawing PF money. The retirement body will soon be launching an online PF withdrawal facility. Once operational, subscribers can apply online and the money will be transferred directly to their bank accounts.

EPFO has launched a mobile app, SMS-based UAN activation and a missed call service. Members can use the app to view monthly credits, balance in the account and other details with EPFO. Pensioners can see disbursement details using the app. If an individual wants to activate the UAN, they can send an SMS to a mobile number to do so. Once UAN is activated, the member becomes eligible for all services under the programme such as credit alerts, passbooks and the like. Also, one can give a missed call to an EPFO number and get all the required details.