Two ways the EPFO can get itself an image boost

India's state-run retirement fund would do itself a favour by resolving its high level of claim rejections and speeding up interest payments. Its digital makeover should signal efficiency

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The proof of a retiral kitty's worth is in the retiring. On this measure, the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has not made news in recent years that could impress its subscribers. As reported, it has had a rather high rejection rate of final settlement claims. In 2022-23, it was reportedly at 34%, implying more than a third of all withdrawal applications were rejected. This rate was 13% in 2017-18. Since a surge in bogus claims after EPFO processes went online seems like a minor explanation at best, the organisation must release data in more granular detail—and sooner—for a clearer picture of the scenario. To what extent are bona fide claimants facing rejection? If it's mainly down to procedural glitches, such as data-entry mismatches that should not raise red flags, then these need to be sorted out quickly. Digital protocols may have had their own effects. While the EPFO's user interface on the internet has been welcome, what counts in the final analysis is the state-run retirement fund's reliability at that moment of truth: When people ask for