 "5 new EPFO guidelines: Pension transfer and payment gets convenient")
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has updated its services, announcing five guidelines that offer members a streamlined joint declaration process and a centralised pension payment system (CPPS).
Members can now update their profiles through an online portal and transfer PF accounts with greater ease. These updates are designed to make EPF management more user-friendly and efficient. Here are the changes:
Clarification on higher pension
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EPFO has issued a circular providing policy clarifications on processing pension cases for individuals earning higher wages under the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS). Field offices had raised queries about policy related to pension on higher wages (PoHW) cases, which were subsequently referred to the Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoL&E) for resolution.
The clarifications address the following key points:
Ensuring equitable pension computation across different categories of pensioners.
Adhering strictly to trust rules for exempted establishments.
Clearly distinguishing between dues and pension arrears to prevent overlap.
These guidelines aim to streamline field operations, align them with legal and procedural standards, and promote consistency and transparency in managing PoHW cases.
Joint declaration
Revised process for joint declaration
The new guidelines replace the earlier version of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP Version 3.0), which was issued on July 31, 2024.
EFPFO said: "In supersession of the directions contained in the Joint Declaration SOP Version 3.0 issued on 31-July-2024, following directions are issued to simplify the process:"
Simplification based on member classification
The process has been streamlined by classifying members into the following categories:
Members with Universal Account Numbers (UAN) generated using Aadhaar (post 1st October 2017) – joint declaration requests to be submitted online.
Members with UANs generated before 1st October 2017, where Name, Date of Birth (DOB), and Gender have been Aadhaar-verified by UIDAI – JD requests to be submitted online.
Members with UANs not Aadhaar-verified, those without UANs, or deceased members – JD requests to be submitted physically by the member/claimant.
Documents can be submitted by the member through Digilocker wherever feasible else uploaded as a single PDF from the documents listed in Annexure- II. The facility for uploading through Digilocker shall be introduced shortly. For each parameter, a minimum of 2 documents need to be uploaded but only 1 document would be required if it is through Digilocker. In cases where EE (Employee) himself can carry out the desired change, no document will be required to be uploaded.
CPPS
The circular outlines the implementation of the Centralised Pension Payment System (CPPS), effective January 1, 2025.
Pension Payment Orders (PPOs) will no longer require transfer due to bank or branch jurisdiction constraints. The system will include new banks or branches with the relevant information, such as IFSC codes. Members can now use the same bank account linked to their UAN-KYC for pension claims, minimising payment errors. For newly issued PPOs, it will be mandatory to link Aadhaar details in the system to ensure smooth processing of Digital Life Certificate (DLC) submissions.
EPF member profile updation
EPFO has made the process of updating member profiles much easier, reflecting its commitment to improving member services and ensuring the accuracy of member information. Under the revised procedure, members whose UAN is Aadhaar-verified can update personal details such as their name, birth date, gender, nationality, parent’s name, marital status, spouse’s name, and joining or leaving dates without needing to provide supporting documents. In certain cases, if the UAN was issued before October 1, 2017, the update will require the employer’s certification.
Transfer of PF
To simplify the process of transferring a Provident Fund (PF) account when changing employment, the requirement to route the online transfer claim through either the past or present employer has been eliminated in certain cases to expedite the transfer.
These cases include:
Transfers between Member IDs linked with the same UAN where the UAN was allotted on or after October 1, 2017 and is linked with Aadhaar.
Transfers between Member IDs linked with different UANs where the UANs were allotted on or after October 1, 2017 and are linked with the same Aadhaar.
Transfers between Member IDs linked with the same UAN where the UAN was allotted prior to October 1, 2017, is linked with Aadhaar, and the name, date of birth (DOB), and gender are identical across the Member IDs.
Transfers between Member IDs linked with different UANs where at least one of the UANs was allotted prior to 01 October, 2017, is linked with Aadhaar, and the name, DOB, and gender are identical across the Member IDs.