Modi government to raise auto PF withdrawal limit to ₹5L
What's the story
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is planning to raise the auto settlement limit of advanced claim (ASAC) from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh.
The move is intended to make the lives of its 7.5 crore members easier.
Sumita Dawra, Secretary at the Ministry of Labor and Employment, approved the proposal in a meeting with the Executive Committee (EC) of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) recently.
However, the proposal still awaits final approval from the CBT.
Approval process
Meeting convened in Srinagar
The EC meeting where this proposal was approved was held in Srinagar on March 28. It was attended by Ramesh Krishnamurthi, Commissioner of the Central Provident Fund.
The proposal now awaits final approval from the CBT. Once approved, EPFO members will be able to withdraw up to ₹5 lakh through ASAC.
Implementation
Auto-mode claim settlement introduced in 2020
Notably, the auto mode of claim settlement was first introduced in April 2020, for illness-related withdrawals.
In May 2024, the EPFO had raised the auto settlement limit from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh.
The organization has since expanded the feature to advance claims for education, marriage, and housing purposes.
Now, about 95% of claims are processed within three days, thanks to automation.
Streamlining process
EPFO's auto-claim solution and reduced validation formalities
The EPFO has created an auto-claim solution that automatically processes claims through an IT system, without human intervention.
The meeting also decided to reduce the validation formalities for withdrawing PF from 27 to 18, with a future goal to bring it down to six.
This simplification is aimed at guiding members about their eligibility for claims and preventing them from filing ineligible ones.