The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has approved a pilot project to automatically settle claims in small inoperative accounts, a move aimed at reducing delays and helping members recover long-unclaimed funds faster.
Under the new initiative, EPFO will automatically process claim settlements for accounts with unclaimed balances of ₹1,000 or less, without requiring the account holder to submit a formal withdrawal request.
In the first phase, around 1.33 lakh such accounts, amounting to nearly ₹5.68 crore, will be covered under this reform initiative, the board decided in its latest (239th) meeting held last Monday.
But what are inoperative EPFO accounts, and how does the retirement fund body plan to process the transactions linked to them? Here is a detailed explanation.
What is an inoperative EPFO account?
Under EPF provisions, an account is considered inoperative if no contributions are made for three consecutive years after the member turns 55 years old or from the date of retirement, whichever is later, according to the statutory body.
As per data shared in the board meeting, there are 31.83 lakh such inoperative accounts, amounting to ₹10,181 crore as of 31 March 2025. This figure excludes international workers.
What changes have been made?
Under the pilot project, EPFO will directly credit amounts to members’ Aadhaar-linked bank accounts registered with EPFO, without requiring fresh claims or documentation.
The move is expected to simplify the withdrawal process and help members receive their dues faster. Depending on the success of the pilot, the facility may later be expanded to accounts with balances above ₹1,000, further reinforcing EPFO’s focus on member-centric reforms.
The initiative is also expected to facilitate faster credit of long-pending balances, reduce procedural delays, improve data accuracy, and enhance overall service delivery, the body said.
EPFO moves to streamline withdrawals for members
The Union Labour Ministry has consistently been working to streamline processes for users. One such effort involves developing a system that would allow eight crore Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) members to directly withdraw money using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), PTI reported earlier.
The project, targeted for rollout by April 2026, aims to provide quicker access to funds, streamline withdrawals, and improve service efficiency.
The report also noted that EPFO is working to resolve software glitches in the current system. If implemented, around eight crore members could benefit, as they currently have to go through a time-consuming claims process to withdraw money from their EPF accounts.
