EPFO settles 25 lakh advance claims on auto mode; check details

Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has settled about 25 lakh advance claims in auto mode, the Ministry of Labour and Employment said in an official release on Friday, June 14.

To speed up the claim process, EPFO has implemented auto settlement of advances up to ₹1 lakh for education, illness, housing, and marriage. Out of the 25 lakh claims settled in auto mode, more than 50% have been for illness. The government said most of the claims are now being settled within three days.

The disclosure was made during a review meeting on reforms in EPFO chaired by Sumita Dawra, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment. Neelam Shami Rao, Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC), and other senior officers of the Labour Ministry and EPFO attended the meeting.

"The cheque book/passbook of bank account upload for the KYC Aadhaar linked accounts of members have been dispensed with, thus eliminating the scrutiny requirement in almost 13 lakh claims in the last month. EPFO has also reduced and rationalised the remarks for easy comprehension of the members for return of incomplete cases and rejection of ineligible cases," the government said.

The number of auto transfers generated also surged threefold from two lakh in April 2024 to six lakh in May 2024. Dawra advised EPF to continue the proactive steps for systemic reforms.

EPFO is also overhauling its application with the universal account number (UAN) based single accounting system for every member and automating process flow with the least human intervention for faster claim settlement. The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) is providing consultation for the new software.

The review meeting emphasised the need to expand social security and new initiatives to facilitate living and business.