EPFO overhauls claim process with major reforms set to benefit 7.7 crore members

In a move aimed at enhancing the ease of living for Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) members and improving the ease of doing business for employers, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has announced two significant reforms in its claim settlement process.

The first reform removes the requirement for EPF members to upload an image of a cheque leaf or an attested bank passbook while filing claims, benefiting over 7.7 crore members by simplifying documentation requirements. The second reform eliminates the need for employer approval when seeding bank account details with the Universal Account Number (UAN), providing immediate relief to nearly 15 lakh members whose approvals were pending.

These measures are expected to streamline the claim settlement process, reduce rejections, and enhance overall efficiency, making financial access faster and more seamless for EPF subscribers.

Removal of requirement to upload image of cheque leaf/attested bank passbook
EPFO has completely dispensed with the requirement of uploading an image of a cheque leaf or attested bank passbook while filing online claims. This requirement was initially relaxed on a pilot basis for certain KYC-updated members. Since its launch on May 28, 2024, the move has already benefited 1.7 crore EPF members, according to a PIB press release.

Following the successful pilot, EPFO has now extended this relaxation to all members. As the bank account holder’s name is already verified with the EPF member’s details at the time of bank account seeding with the Universal Account Number (UAN), this additional documentation is no longer necessary.

By removing this requirement, EPFO is set to immediately benefit around 6 crore members, eliminating claim rejections due to poor-quality/unreadable uploads and reducing associated grievances, according to the PIB press release.

Removal of employer approval for seeding bank details with UAN
To streamline the process of seeding bank accounts with UAN, EPFO has now removed the requirement of employer approval after bank verification.

Currently, every member is required to seed their bank account with UAN in order to have their PF withdrawals seamlessly credited to that account. During the FY 2024-25, 1.3 crore members have submitted their requests for seeding their bank accounts. The requests, after due matching with the respective bank/NPCI, are approved by the employer through DSC/E-Sign.

It has been observed that around 36,000 requests for seeding bank accounts are raised by members daily, with banks taking an average of 3 days for verification. However, after bank verification, the average time taken by employers to approve the process is about 13 days, resulting in a piling up of workload at the employer’s level and subsequent delays in the seeding of bank accounts for members. Furthermore, this approval step is not adding any value to the verification process, stated the PIB press release.

Out of the 7.74 crore members who are presently contributing each month, 4.83 crore members have already seeded their bank accounts in UAN, with 14.95 lakh approvals pending at the employer’s level.

Accordingly, to facilitate 'Ease of Doing Business' for employers and 'Ease of Living' for members, the role of the employer in approving the verification of bank accounts has now been dispensed with in the seeding process. This will immediately benefit over 14.95 lakh members whose approvals are pending with employers, stated the PIB press release.

This simplified process will also facilitate those members who want to change their already seeded bank account by entering their new bank account number along with the IFSC code, duly authenticated through Aadhaar OTP.

Members who are yet to seed their bank account or change their seeded bank account can take advantage of this simplified process to get their bank account seeded at the earliest.