EPFO to launch online PF transfer for PF trusts this month

Retirement fund body EPFO is all set to launch this month an online facility for transfer of PF accounts for the organised sector workers covered under private PF trusts, that manage their employees' retirement fund themselves.

"The EPFO has planned to launch the facility of online transfer of PF account from private PF trusts to un-exempted firms which are filing PF returns and vice-versa, this month," a Labour Ministry official said.

At present this facility is available to workers of (un-exempted) firms which do not have their PF trusts and manage their employees' accounts with their respective regional fund commissioners of the EPFO. It was launched in October last year.

There are 3,621 private provident fund trusts (PPFT) which are managing the accounts as well as retirement fund of their workers. These trusts are regulated by the EPFO.

According the official, the EPFO has developed a mechanism by which PF accounts can be transfered online from an un-exempted firm to exempted organisation (PPFT).

There were certain technical issues for online transferring of PF accounts on changing jobs from a PPFT to an un-exempted firm.

Now since the EPFO has almost completed the work on the mechanism to enable transfer of PF accounts from a private PF trust to an un-exempted firm and vice-versa, the facility could be launched anytime this month, the official added.

There are over five crore active subscribers whose accounts are being managed by EPFO. But these are all un-exempted firms which don't operate a trust and file provident fund returns with EPFO.

The facility of online transfer of provident fund accounts is aimed at reducing the work load of the body substantially as over 13 lakh applicants file such claims every year.

The EPFO settled 1.21 crore claims in 2013-14, including about 12 lakh PF transfer claims.