The government has taken a big decision for PF account holders. EPFO offices in the country will be converted into ‘Single Window Service’ centres. PF account holders will benefit greatly from this change. Till now account holders had to visit their regional office to solve any problem, but now they can solve their problems by visiting any regional office.

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has also given information regarding this at the inauguration of EPFO’s Provident Fund Building. He has told that EPFO ​​offices will be changed on the lines of passport offices and a single window system will be started there. The trial of this system has been started in Delhi.

What was the rule before?

Earlier the rule was that in case of any kind of problem, the account holders had to go to the same regional office with which their institution is associated. However, after the new changes, everything in this system will be digital only. This will mean that any person will now be able to get all his work and problems solved easily by going to his nearest EPFO ​​office. A new mechanism of EPF facility provider will be launched for those employees who face difficulty in working properly in the digital system. Their job is to help these employees in settling claims. This facility provider will act as a bridge in a way.

benefits derived from it

If any person comes back after working from outside, now his money will not be lost but he will be able to withdraw his deposit even after returning to India. For those employees whose money is stuck for years, the government will now do KYC verification for the employees in mission mode. Those who have an account or have children will be identified and their rightful money will be returned.

Mandaviya said that in 2014, where only 19 percent of the population was given social security, today it is 64 percent. After China, India is the largest country in the world, where 94 percent of the people come within the social circle in some way or the other.

What will be the difference between before and now?

• Where earlier you had to go to the branch office, now you can go to any EPFO ​​office and get this work done.
• Earlier you had to trust the broker or do the work yourself, now you will be guided by the EPF facility provider to guide you.
• Instead of your money getting stuck after KYC, your KYC will be done immediately with the help of digital platform.
• Apart from this, under the agreement, PF deducted abroad will also be returned upon coming to India.

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There is good news for government employees. The Central Government Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has decided to increase the limit of Auto Settlement Advanced Claim (ASAC) from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, giving great relief to its members.

Let us tell you, Sumita Dora, Secretary, Ministry of Labor and Employment, approved this proposal in the 113rd Executive Committee (EC) meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) last week. The meeting was also attended by EPFO ​​Central Provident Fund Commissioner Ramesh Krishnamurthy, which was held in Srinagar on 28 March. However, this recommendation will be sent to CBT for final approval. After getting the approval, members of EPFO ​​will be able to claim advances up to Rs 5 lakh.

How did EPFO ​​Auto Claim start?

The EPFO ​​introduced an auto-calm facility in April 2020, allowing the withdrawal of up to Rs 50,000 in cases of disease. In May 2024, this limit was reduced to Rs 1 lakh. Till now this facility was limited to the condition of disease and hospitalization, but now it has also been implemented in three new areas like education, marriage and home.

Epfo claim rejections declined heavy

Last year, up to 50 percent claims were rejected in EPFO, but now it has come up to 30 percent. EPFO has made the auto-calm process completely digital, which is now being processed by automatic claims by IT system without any human intervention.

Relief in PF withdrawal rules

Validation formalities have been reduced from 27 per cent to 18 per cent to extract PF. In the meeting, it was decided to reduce it by 6 percent further. In fact, the central government is also working towards centralizing and digitalizing the database of EPFO. Now KYC, eligibility and bank verification will be done automatically as a claim process. Earlier it used to take 10 days to remove PF, but now this period has come down to 3-4 days.

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Epfo upi facility: If you work in government or any private sector and your PF is cut every month, then this news is for you. Actually, the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is now going to intensify the process of PF claim through UPI.

Labor and Employment Secretary Sumita Davra said on Monday that UPI will be integrated into the EPFO ​​system by the end of May 2025. This will benefit 7.5 crore active EPF members, whose money will be transferred to PF account immediately.

What will be the new system?

Claims up to Rs 1 lakh are already automated, now it will be faster than UPI. Apart from this, account holders will be able to link EPFO ​​account in their UPI app (eg PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm). At the same time, auto-calm facility will also be available. That is, if the member is eligible, then the money will be deposited immediately. Talking about now, it takes 3 days for claim processing, after coming to UPI, you will get money in a few minutes.

Database and pension system improvement

EPFO has created a centralized database for the first time, which will take 2-3 weeks to be fully stable.

78 lakh pensioners will now get pension from any bank (earlier only a few banks were notified).

The Centralized Pension System has been implemented on the advice of RBI.

New schemes related to employment

The budget of Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme has been increased from 10,000 crores to 20,000 crore. Youth working, existing employees and platform workers will get the benefit. Under the online PMJAY scheme, platform workers will also get free health insurance.

How long will UPI get the facility?

EPFO has prepared a proposal by taking suggestions from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). By the end of May, the UPI will be launched after front and testing. Let me tell you, till now PF was being talked about withdrawing money from ATM. It was also instructed by the EPFO ​​that the facility with ATM will start in a few months. However, now if the PF account is directly linked to UPI, then there will hardly be the need of ATMs.

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