New Delhi: The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has introduced several initiatives in recent years to simplify processes for provident fund (PF) account holders. One such measure is the auto-settlement mode for advance claims, which may soon see an expansion. Reports suggest that the central government is considering increasing the auto-settlement limit for PF withdrawals from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
During a Lok Sabha session last week, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje stated that more than 60 per cent of advance claims are now settled through the auto mode. “Currently, 60 per cent of advance claims are being processed automatically, with settlements completed within three days. As of March 6, 2025, EPFO recorded a historic high of 2.16 crore auto-claim settlements in the current financial year,” she noted on March 17.
According to sources cited by ANI, Sumita Dawra, Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, approved the proposal to enhance the withdrawal limit during a meeting held in Srinagar last week. The recommendation is now set to be reviewed by the Central Board of Trustees before implementation, a move that could bring greater convenience to PF subscribers. Meanwhile, EPFO is gearing up to introduce UPI-based PF withdrawals, with approval already granted by the Ministry for the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) proposal. This integration will allow members to withdraw funds through UPI and ATMs, and the system is expected to be operational by May or June this year. Additionally, efforts have been made to ease the validation process for PF withdrawals. Sources indicate that the required formalities have been reduced from 27 to 18, with plans to further streamline them to just six. New validation mechanisms have also been put in place to assist members in determining their claim eligibility, thereby minimising the risk of filing ineligible claims.The auto-settlement system was first introduced in April 2020 for medical emergencies and later extended to cover claims for marriage, education, and housing. Presently, over 99.31 per cent of claims are submitted online, with auto-mode claims being processed within three days.
with agency inputs