EPFO: Big news for EPFO members. Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) accounts hold significant importance for employed individuals. Nevertheless, there are numerous EPF accounts that have remained inactive for an extended period. Shobha Karandlaje, the Minister of State for Labor and Employment, has shared details regarding these dormant accounts.

Key points mentioned by the minister

1. The Minister disclosed to the Rajya Sabha that the number of inactive EPF accounts surged by 84% between the financial years 2020-21 and 2023-24. The data revealed an increase from 1,172,923 accounts in 2020-21 to 2,155,387 accounts in 2023-24, indicating an approximately 84% rise over four years.

2. Alongside the growth in the number of inactive accounts, the outstanding balance also escalated, while the settled amount diminished. Moreover, the average balance in each inactive account saw an 18% increase over the same period, rising from Rs 33,513 in 2020-21 to Rs 39,460 in 2023-24.

3. Member of Parliament Neeraj Dangi had sought information from Karandlaje regarding the count of dormant EPF accounts and their deposits since the financial year 2020-21, categorized on a yearly and state/union territory basis.

Reasons for the surge in inactive EPF accounts

Shobha Karandlaje attributed this rise mainly to employees failing to apply for EPF withdrawals or claims upon leaving their employment. Additionally, during the Know Your Customer (KYC) and Aadhaar seeding initiatives, accounts previously not labeled as inactive due to missing details like the member’s date of birth were also identified as inactive.

Government’s actions taken

In response to inquiries about the government’s actions to identify inactive EPF accounts, Karandlaje mentioned that measures have been implemented to pinpoint such accounts with unclaimed funds and classify them based on the availability and status of KYC information.

The revised EPF Scheme, 2026 now includes a provision to automatically initiate EPF claims to facilitate direct crediting of funds to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. The Minister highlighted that the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has conducted awareness campaigns through social media platforms and ‘Nidhi Near You (NAN) 2.0’ camps to educate employers and employees about EPF services and inactive accounts.