The UPS was approved by the central government in August last year to provide a guaranteed pension to retirees with a minimum of 25 years of service
Measure will reduce claim-related grievances and delays for more than 77 million subscribers, says EPFO
Retirement fund body EPFO on Thursday said applicants seeking withdrawal from provident funds online do not have to upload the image of a cancelled cheque and their bank accounts need not be verified by employers. The move is expected to fast-track claim settlement process for nearly eight crore members and ensure ease of doing business for employers. At present, members of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), while applying for withdrawal of funds from PF accounts online, need to upload image of cheque leaf or attested photo copy of the passbook of the bank account seeded with the UAN (Universal Account Number) or PF number. The employers are also required to approve the bank account details of the applicant. The EPFO has completely dispensed with the requirement of uploading an image of a cheque leaf or attested bank passbook while filing online claims, the labour ministry said in a statement. These two steps have been done away with to ensure 'ease of living' for EPF .
A Parliamentary Committee on Thursday pointed out non-payment of contribution by private sector employers towards their employees' provident fund and asked the government to take up the matter with EPFO in case any such grievances are received. The observation was recorded by the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice in its 146th report, tabled in Parliament on Thursday, on the Demands for Grants (2025-26) pertaining to the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) and Department of Pension & Pensioners' Welfare. "It has come to the notice of the Committee, that in the form of public grievances a large number of employees who work in private sector where funds are under the watch of EPFO, the employer do not pay their share of contribution and even sometimes do not even pay the employees' contribution as well," the report said. The panel said some of the private sector organisations have made
In January last year, a total of 807,865 new subscribers had joined the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF)
An increase of 11.48 per cent has been registered in net payroll addition in the month under review compared to December 2024, a labour ministry statement said
Retirement fund body EPFO settled a record number of 2.16 crore claims through the autonomous process in the current financial year till March 6, which was more than double the figure of last fiscal, Parliament was informed on Monday. In the previous financial year, the EPFO (Employees' Provident Fund Organisation) had settled 89.52 lakh claims. Now, 60 per cent of advance (withdrawal) claims are processed through auto mode, said Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shobha Karandlaje in a written reply to Lok Sabha. The minister said the limit for processing of advance (part withdrawal) claims through auto mode has also been enhanced to Rs 1 lakh. In addition to illness/hospitalisation related claims, partial withdrawals for housing, education and marriage have also been enabled under auto mode, the minister told the House, adding that claims under the auto mode are processed within three days. EPFO achieved a historic high of 2.16 crore claim settlement as on March 6, 2025 .
Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced on Thursday that the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will soon launch the "EPFO 3.0 version," which will allow subscribers to withdraw funds from ATMs, along with several other new features. Speaking after inaugurating EPFO's Office Complex of Telangana Zonal Office and Regional Office here this evening, he said the 'EPFO 3.0 version' will be equivalent to the banking system. "In the coming days, EPFO 3.0 version will come. This means EPFO will become equivalent to a bank. Like how transactions are carried out in a bank, you (EPFO subscribers) have your Universal Account Number (UAN) and you will be able to do all your work," he said. "Neither do you to have visit EPFO offices nor do you have to go to employer. It is your money and you can withdraw it as and when you want. Now you still need to go to EPFO offices. I promise you, in the coming days, you can withdraw your money from ATMs whenever you want. We are carrying
Members can update details like name, DOB, gender, nationality, parents' names, marital status, spouse's name, and joining/departing dates without uploading documents
A minimum life insurance benefit of Rs 50,000 will be provided in cases where an EPF member dies without completing one year of continuous service
This comes against the backdrop of ebbing stock markets and bond yields in the current financial year
Last year, interest rate for FY24 was fixed at 8.25 per cent by CBT, the apex decision making body of the social security organisation
The EPFO data is considered crucial as it reflects the state of the formal labour market. Only the formal workforce enjoys social security benefits and is protected by labour laws
It is mandatory to seed your Aadhaar with your bank account to avail the benefits of the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme
In the scheme, gig workers will be allotted a single universal account number (UAN) under EPFO for all platforms, should they choose to work with multiple platforms
Auto claim settlements also doubled to 18.7 million from 8.92 million claims settled in the previous financial year
As many as 1.749 million applications were received by July 11, 2023. In a final extension, employers were given a last opportunity to forward applications for pensions on higher wages by January 31
The order came in response to a writ petition filed by 41 pensioners that challenged the EPFO's 2014 pro-rata order
The inefficiency of current succession processes not only frustrates grieving families but also undermines the government's ease-of-living agenda
Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday directed retirement fund body EPFO officials to further streamline claim settlement process, ensure timely grievance redressal, and adopt a public-friendly approach during a review meeting. Mandaviya conducted a virtual review meeting to evaluate the performance of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) Regional Offices, a labour ministry statement said. The meeting was attended by Union Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra, EPFO Central Provident Commissioner Ramesh Krishnamurthi, senior officers from the ministry and from 21 Zonal and 140 Regional Offices of the EPFO. The review focused on enhancing claim settlement efficiency, reducing claim rejections, activating Universal Account Numbers (UAN), and implementing the Pension on Higher Wages (PoHW) Scheme. Dawra briefed the minister about the recent initiatives undertaken by EPFO to improve service delivery viz. simplification of the joint declaration process, eliminating the ..