The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has made the claim settlement process simpler.
On Thursday, the central government announced two major changes to reduce paperwork and the chances of claim rejections.
One big change is that EPFO members no longer need to upload a photo of a cheque or a verified bank passbook when filing online claims. This step will benefit over 7.7 crore EPFO members.
At first, this rule was only relaxed for some users in a pilot project starting May 28, 2024. So far, about 1.7 crore members have already taken advantage of this change.
Reforms Extended to All EPFO Members
The Ministry of Labor and Employment has now made this facility available to all EPFO members.
The government explained that once a member’s bank account is linked to their Universal Account Number (UAN), the account holder’s name is already verified.
So, extra documents like cheque photos or passbook copies are no longer needed.
Another helpful update is that members no longer need employer approval after verifying their bank account. This makes it much easier to link bank accounts with UANs.
So far, out of 7.74 crore active members, 4.83 crore have already linked their bank accounts with their UAN. However, about 14.95 lakh requests are still waiting for employer approval.
The ministry also said these changes will help members who want to update their bank account details.
Now, they can enter a new bank account number and IFSC code using Aadhaar OTP to make updates quickly and easily.
