Transforming pension and PF services

EPFO reforms mark a new era of efficiency, transparency, and accessibility with a focus on simplifying operations, reducing delays, and leveraging technology

- SUMITA DAWRA

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is a premier social security organisation in the country, with over 300 million accounts, and a live membership of more than 74 million formal sector workers. In recent times, to ensure ease of living, the EPFO has undertaken significant reforms aimed at improving pension services, streamlining claim processing for provident fund (PF), and enhancing information technology (IT) systems.

These reforms have led to improvements in service delivery for millions of EPF members and pensioners, with more improvements to follow in the near future.

Pension reforms: A landmark change was the launch of the Centralised Pension Processing System in December 2024. This system ensures that all 78 lakh EPFO pensioners across India can receive their pensions through any bank branch rather than being restricted to specific ones, bringing greater flexibility and convenience to pensioners.

Auto-settlement of PF claims: The labour ministry reintroduced and expanded the auto-settlement of PF claims last year, increasing the eligibility limit from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh. This is particularly significant as it enables faster processing of claims without manual intervention.

Additionally, the auto-settlement categories have been expanded beyond sickness-related claims to include education, marriage, and housing. Given that nearly 60% of the EPFO's total advance claims are covered under auto-settlement, this reform has drastically increased efficiency, reducing delays and simplifying access to funds for members.