EPFO: The Employee Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI), managed by the EPFO, is designed to offer protection to workers in the organized sector. If an employee passes away while working, their family gets a one-time insurance payout between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 7 lakh. The best part? The employee doesn’t have to contribute any personal funds for this insurance.
Now, you’re guaranteed Rs 50,000 no matter what
EPFO has introduced a major update to the EDLI regulations. In the past, an employee’s PF account needed to have at least Rs 50,000 for their family to claim insurance benefits after their death. That requirement has been eliminated. So, even if an employee has less than Rs 50,000 in their PF account, or if it’s completely empty, their dependents will still get an insurance benefit of at least Rs 50,000. This is a huge relief, particularly for the families of low-income and new employees.
Death claim period has been extended
The updated rules also prolong the time frame for submitting a death claim. Now, if an employee dies within six months of getting their last paycheck, their family will still be eligible for EDLI insurance benefits. This is a big improvement from the previous, much shorter deadline, which caused issues for many families.
Benefits secured even if you change jobs
Another important change has been made to the continuous service rule. Now, if an employee has completed one year of continuous service, and there is a gap of 60 days (or two months) between two jobs, their service will still be considered continuous. That is, if someone has held multiple jobs with a gap of less than two months between each, the duration of all their jobs will be added together. This will allow their family to receive full insurance benefits.