By Admin 
Unclaimed EPF: Many times people change jobs in their career in search of better opportunities and good salary, but have you kept track of your old PF accounts after getting a new job? A new study has revealed that many people have no idea about their old PF accounts. Whereas there is huge amount in these accounts.
1 According to a report by Finance Magazine, at present there are more than 31.87 lakh EPF accounts in India which are no longer active and about Rs 10,915 crore are deposited in them. What is even more worrying is that despite systems being in place to make things easier, this number has increased rapidly in the last few years.
Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is a way of long-term savings, which makes a person financially secure after retirement. However, when accounts remain inactive for three years, they are considered inoperative. A study has shown that the number of such accounts is expected to increase from 9.8 lakh in 2020 to approximately 31.9 lakh in 2025—a three-fold increase in just five years.
Why are unclaimed accounts increasing?
- Many times, while changing jobs, people do not merge their old PF account with the new Universal Account Number (UAN). Due to this, no account of old accounts remains.
- Millions of accounts that existed before UAN was introduced in 2014 are still not linked. In such a situation, it has become difficult to reach them.
- There are many accounts in which bank details, Aadhaar or PAN are not updated. In such a situation, difficulties arise in online withdrawal.
- There are approximately 7.11 lakh accounts with balance less than Rs 1000. Many times people find it better to avoid complicated paperwork for small amounts.
- Many times the money gets stopped due to lack of nominee.
Now what next?
To solve this problem, the government has started a pilot project called ‘Auto-Refund’. Under this, there is no need to apply separately for non-operative accounts having balance of Rs 1000 or less. EPFO will identify such accounts and transfer your money directly to your bank account. For amounts larger than this, you can claim online by visiting the UAN portal.
Suppose you do not have a UAN or are facing any problem in online claim, then you can download Form 19/10C, fill it and submit it to any EPFO office near you.
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