The Central Government on Thursday announced two new reforms to make the Claim Settlement Process easier in the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). This will help in removing complaints of claim dismissal. Under the new reforms, the EPFO has abolished the need to upload a picture of check or verified bank passbook while filing online claims, which will benefit more than 7.7 crore members.
According to the government, this requirement was initially started on a pilot basis for some KYC-update members. Since its launch on May 28, 2024, so far 1.7 crore EPFO members have benefited from it. The Union Ministry of Labor and Employment said that after the success of the pilot project, now this facility has been implemented for all members.
The government said that while adding a bank account with a universal account number (UAN) by a member, the name of the account holder has already been verified with the details of EPFO, so this additional documentation is no longer necessary. Apart from this, EPFO has also removed the need for bank verification to simplify the process of connecting bank accounts with UAN.
Currently, each member is required to connect his bank account with the UAN so that their PF withdrawal can be easily deposited in such an account. Currently, out of 7.74 crore members who contributed in each month, 4.83 crore members have connected their bank accounts to the UAN and 14.95 lakh approvals are pending at the level of employers.
The ministry said that, “These reforms will also facilitate those members who want to change their already connected bank account by entering their new bank account number with IFSC code through Aadhaar OTP.”