PF Withdrawal Without Interest, Who Will Get Only Amount?

EPFO alert: Recently, there have been reports indicating that the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is set to transfer funds from millions of inactive accounts back to PF account holders. This has sparked numerous questions. For instance, which types of inactive accounts will the EPFO refund money from? Will the refunded amount also include interest? Let’s delve into the specifics.

What is an inactive account?

An EPFO account is deemed inactive if there have been no contributions made by either the employee or employer for over 36 months. Experts note that small sums often linger in these accounts for years, forgotten or not transferred by employees. Reports indicate that a total of Rs 10,903 crore is held in 31.86 lakh inactive EPF accounts. Among these, Rs 30.52 crore is in 7 lakh accounts with balances of up to Rs 1,000, which will be prioritized for return.

Who will receive the money first?

As per media reports, this PF amount will be directly transferred to the respective bank accounts linked to the Aadhaar of the EPF account holders. In cases where the account holder has passed away, the payment will be made to the nominee or legal heir.

What interest will be earned?

According to current regulations, EPFO members accrue interest on their accounts until they turn 58. After reaching 58, the account is classified as inactive, and no further interest is generated.

What should you do if your account is deactivated?

If an EPFO employee is still working at an organization that falls under the EPF & MP Act, 1952, they should transfer their old balance to the new account, either online or offline. Retired members have the option to withdraw the entire amount if they choose.

EPFO 3.0 launched

It should be noted that EPFO ​​is also working on the ‘EPFO 3.0’ digital initiative, under which facilities based on the ‘Core Banking System’ are being implemented. In the new system, claims that pass the risk management checks can be settled in less than three days, whereas earlier the manual process took up to 20 days. In April 2025, EPFO ​​also introduced the facility of UAN generation and activation using Aadhaar face authentication technology through the UMANG app. This allows members to avail their services in a secure and contactless manner without any physical verification.