• Source:JND
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EPFO pension latest news today: Retirement fund body EPFO on Thursday said applicants seeking to withdraw from provident funds would not need to upload a picture of the cancelled check online and their bank accounts would not need to be verified by their employers. The move is expected to speed up the claims settlement process for nearly 80 million members and make business easier for employers.

Currently, Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) members have to upload a certified photo copy of bank account check leaf picture or passbook seeded with UAN (Universal Account Number) or PF number while applying online for PF account withdrawal. The employer must also approve the bank account details of the applicant.

PF Fund Withdrawal Rule: No Need To Upload Cancelled Check, Passbook Image 

The EPFO has completely removed the requirement to upload a check leaf or certified bank passbook image while filing an online claim, the Labor Ministry said in a statement. These two measures have been removed to ensure ‘life is easier’ for EPF members and ‘ease in business’ for employers. "These measures will significantly streamline the claims settlement process and reduce complaints related to claim rejections," it said.

These requirements were initially relaxed on a pilot basis for some KYC-updated members. Since the pilot started on May 28, 2024, the initiative has already benefited 17 million EPF members. After a successful pilot, the EPFO has now extended the relaxation to all members, the ministry said.

The Ministry said that since the bank account is already verified with EPF member details while seeding the bank account with UAN, this additional documentation is no longer required, eliminating the possibility of claim rejection due to poor quality/legible upload and reducing related complaints.

In FY 2024-25, 13 million members submitted requests for seeding in their bank accounts and after due matching with concerned banks/NPCIs, the employers have to approve them through DSC/e-sign. It appears that members are receiving around 36,000 requests per day to seed bank accounts and banks take an average of 3 days to complete verification.

However, the average time it takes for the employer to approve the process after bank account verification is about 13 days, increasing the workload at the employer level and consequently delaying seeding the member with a bank account.

EPFO Members

Of the 77.4 million members currently contributing every month, 48.3 million have already seeded their bank accounts with UAN, while 1.495 million approvals are pending at the owner level. This will immediately benefit 14.95 lakh members whose approval is pending with the employer, as employer approval is no longer required.

According to the statement, this simplified process will also make it easier for those who want to change their already seeded bank accounts by simply entering a new bank account number with the IFSC code properly authenticated through an Aadhaar-based OTP.

(With Inputs From PTI)