EPFO: Recently, there was some great and reassuring news for millions of PF account holders throughout the nation. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) made an important decision and started preparations to automatically refund money from inactive accounts that have balances of up to Rs 1,000. This means that countless individuals will no longer need to apply for their small pending PF amounts or visit various offices. The funds will be directly transferred to their bank accounts linked to Aadhaar. Now, let’s delve into the details regarding the Rs 1,000.
How will you receive Rs 1000?
Customers with Rs 1,000 or less in dormant accounts will receive an automatic refund. If there has been no contribution or transaction in an EPFO account for three consecutive years, this initiative will begin with accounts that have a balance of up to Rs 1,000. Data indicates that approximately Rs 10,903 crore is tied up in a total of 31.86 lakh inactive accounts. For the time being, priority is being given to smaller and long-dormant accounts.
How can you receive a gift of Rs 1000?
EPFO is now transferring funds from inactive PF accounts with balances of up to Rs 1,000 directly to the bank account. There is no requirement to fill out any forms or visit any offices for the auto-refund. Over 7 lakh closed accounts have been included in this initiative. The money will be sent to the same bank account that is linked to Aadhaar (Aadhaar KYC). This service is exclusively for accounts that have been inactive for an extended period. Only accounts with a balance of Rs 1000 or less will qualify for auto-settlement. Make sure to log in to your UAN and keep your Aadhaar, PAN, and bank details updated, as this will ensure you receive the money without any hassle.
What is an inoperative account?
According to EPF Rules, if no new contribution is received in an account for 36 consecutive months (3 years), then it is considered inoperative or dormant. Although such accounts often become inactive due to change of job, non-transfer of PF, retirement or lack of information, but many times due to small amount, people do not even bother to claim, and the money remains lying for years.
Although according to EPFO, interest continues to accrue on such accounts till the age of 58 years, but lakhs of accounts with small amounts were lying unclaimed for a long time, so now EPFO has started a campaign to clean them up.
How can you get money without applying?
Let us tell you that the beneficiaries will not need to fill any separate form.
Auto-credit will be done in accounts whose KYC is updated and whose Aadhaar is linked to the bank account.
The process will be faster, transparent and less hassle.
The aim of EPFO is to reduce the pending burden of small accounts and give their rights directly to the members.
What is the preparation for EPFO 3.0?
- The government is also working towards major reforms in the EPFO system.
- Under this, Core Banking System (CBS) will be fully implemented.
- With this, all services will become more digital and real time.
- Currently, claim settlement may take up to 20 days, but from now on, the work will be completed in just 3 days. The auto settlement limit has already been raised to Rs 5 lakh
- Now auto-refund of small inoperative accounts is being considered as a part of the same reform process.