EPFO, which manages the retirement fund in the country, has given a great facility to its crores of members. Now, employees associated with EPFO will be able to withdraw money directly from their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) account through ATM or UPI. Its limit has been increased to ₹ 5 lakh.
This is a big relief for those lakhs of employees who till now had to apply online to withdraw PF money, which took time. However, to take advantage of this new facility, you have to link your bank account to EPF. This step will make the process of withdrawing PF faster and easier than ever.
What is the government’s plan
According to media sources, the Ministry of Labor is working on a project in which, by stopping a certain part of EPF, a large part can be withdrawn through various methods like UPI or ATM debit card. Sources also said that there are some software-related challenges in implementing this system, which are being overcome.
Till now, the members of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) have had to apply online for their EPF withdrawal claim, which is sometimes time-consuming. This new system will help employees get money immediately in financial emergencies, thereby meeting their immediate needs.
This facility was started during the COVID period
This facility was started during the COVID pandemic. At that time, to provide relief to the employees facing financial difficulties, an auto-settlement facility was started for advance claims up to ₹ 1 lakh. Now this limit has been increased to ₹ 5 lakh, which will benefit millions of shareholders even more.
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EPFO, which has more than seven crore members, introduced the online auto-settlement system to provide relief to the employees from financial difficulties during the time of COVID-19. After this, advance claims for purposes like illness, education, marriage, and housing were also brought under the purview of this facility. This means that now you will be able to make advance claims of up to ₹ 5 lakh for these needs through an ATM or UPI.
Record 2.34 crore claims settled in 2024-25
EPFO has settled a record 2.34 crore advance claims through auto-settlement in the financial year 2024-25. This is a big achievement in itself! This figure is 161 percent more than the 89.52 lakh claims settled in the financial year 2013-14, which shows the increasing efficiency of the system.
In the last financial year (2024-25), 59 percent of all advance claims were settled through the auto-settlement system, while in the financial year 2023-24, this figure was only 31 percent. This rapidly increasing number shows how quickly and easily EPFO is providing services to its members. This facility will prove to be a big game-changer in financial management for EPFO members.