EPF subscribers should continue to save separately for housing, and children's education and marriage
In a major move that’s set to make life easier for over seven crore salaried Indians, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation or EPFO has announced major changes to its withdrawal rules
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has clarified new withdrawal rules after facing public confusion and backlash.
PF withdrawal New Rules: Members who become unemployed can withdraw 75% of provident fund balance immediately, they say after Trinamool MP's criticism
Under the proposed withdrawal rules, a member cannot fully withdraw until they satisfy the waiting period (e.g. 12 months for EPF, 36 months for EPS).
The Mercer report has flagged limited coverage of informal workers, poor adequacy, and regulatory fragmentation as key challenges for India's pension framework
EPFO says members can withdraw 75% of their PF immediately after job loss, while the remaining 25% can be taken only after 12 months of continuous unemployment to preserve pension benefits
According to the Global Pension Index 2025, few nations have cracked the code, with the Netherlands, Iceland, and Denmark leading, and India, Philippines, and Thailand among those lagging far behind
The EPFO manages or oversees a retirement corpus worth about ₹25 trillion, which is expected to grow sharply as India's workforce becomes more formalised
Attacking the Modi government over the change in EPFO rules, the opposition on Wednesday alleged that salaried people are being punished for the Modi government's "mishandling of the economy" and urged Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to scrap the "draconian" provisions. The opposition hit out at the government over the specific change to the period for availing premature final settlement of EPF from the existing 2 months to 12 months and final pension withdrawal from 2 months to 36 months. They also slammed the provision of earmarking 25 per cent of the contributions in the members' account as minimum balance to be maintained by the member at all times. In a post on X, Congress MP Manickam Tagore said the Modi government's new Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) rules are nothing short of "cruelty". "Pensioners and job-losers are being punished for needing their own savings. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji this is the time to intervene and stop Mansukh .
Employers can enrol all existing employees who joined the establishment between July 1, 2017, and October 31, 2025, and who are alive and employed on the date of the declaration
Workers changing jobs will now have to wait up to a year before they can withdraw their provident fund fully
Thirteen rules for withdrawals consolidated to three, as pension manager announces several measures for liberalisation
The committee with members from RBI, Labour and Finance Ministries will draft a roadmap to improve EPFO's fund management and accounting practices
The board of retirement fund body EPFO on Monday approved liberalised part withdrawals for its more than seven crore subscribers, allowing up to 100 per cent EPF withdrawal. The Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the apex decision-making body of EPFO, headed by Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, took several path-breaking decisions during its meeting, a Labour Ministry statement said on Monday. To enhance the Ease of Living of EPF members, the CBT decided to simplify the partial withdrawal provisions of the EPF Scheme by merging 13 complex provisions into a single, streamlined rule categorised into three types, namely, Essential Needs (illness, education, marriage), Housing Needs and Special Circumstances. Now, members will be able to withdraw up to 100 per cent of the eligible balance in the Provident Fund, including employee and employer share. Withdrawal limits have been liberalisededucation withdrawals allowed up to 10 times and marriage up to 5 times (from the existing limit of
EPFO presently assesses the performance of its multiple fund managers on the basis of an evaluation conducted by its consultant Crisil Limited based on portfolio yields and asset quality
Tagline should sum up pension manager's mission of social security, trust and financial empowerment
Kerala HC delivers relief to retirees: "Once EPFO takes your money, it must pay higher pension"
EPFO warns members against false PF claims, saying withdrawals for wrong reasons can invite recovery, penalties and a ban on future advances
Among other things, the revamped facility provides for the segregation of the return submission process from the payment generation process