EPFO settles record 2.16 crore claims in FY25 within 3-day deadline via auto mode: Labour ministry

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) settled a record number of 2.16 crore claims through the autonomous process in the current financial year (FY25) till March 6, said Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shobha Karandlaje in a written reply to Lok Sabha on Monday, March 17. The retirement fund body settled 89.52 lakh claims in the previous fiscal year, marking a more than double growth.

Over 60% of advances (withdrawals) are now processed through auto mode, the minister said, adding that the limit for processing of advance (part withdrawal) claims through this mode has also been increased to ₹1 lakh.

Partial withdrawals for housing, education and marriage, in addition to illness/hospitalisation related claims, have also been enabled under the auto mode, and claims under this mode are processed within three days, she said.

Additionally, the correction process for beneficiary details has been simplified—members can now make corrections online/offline with an Aadhaar-verified Universal Account Number (UAN) without interventions by the PF body, she told the House.

Currently, 96% of the corrections are being done without EPFO intervention and more than 99% of the claims are received through the online mode. As many as 7.14 crore claims have been filed through online mode as of March 6, 2025.

Other EPFO advancements

• The need for employer’s attestation (verification) of Aadhaar-verified UANs, in transfer claim submission requests, has been removed. Only 10% of transfer claims now require member's and employer's attestation.

• The requirement to submit a cheque leaf with the claim form has been relaxed for KYC-compliant UANs that meet the prescribed criteria.

• EPFO now provides de-linking facilities to the members whose EPF accounts have been linked fraudulently/erroneously by any establishment. Over 55,000 members have de-linked their accounts till the end of February 2025 since the launch of this facility on January 18, 2025.

• Some upfront validations have been formed to guide beneficiaries about eligibility/admissibility of claims to prevent filing of ineligible claims.

• The claim settlement process has been simplified further with centralisation of member databases under Centralized IT Enabled System (CITES 2.01).