EPFO Streamlines Fund Transfer and Personal Detail Correction

New Delhi, Jan 19 (NationPress) The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has made significant changes aimed at streamlining essential processes for its 7.6 crore subscribers, effectively reducing unnecessary approvals that have caused delays and inconvenience.

The Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that EPF members who have associated their Universal Account Number with their Aadhaar can now submit their transfer claims online using a one-time password generated via Aadhaar. Notably, this process no longer requires employer intervention.

Members are also empowered to self-correct personal details such as name, address, and bank details by logging into the EPFO website. According to the minister, “Changes made by Aadhaar-verified account holders will no longer necessitate employer approval.”

This revision will provide immediate assistance to approximately 3.9 lakh members whose requests are currently pending at various stages. If any member eligible for self-approval has submitted a request that is awaiting employer action, they can withdraw that request and self-approve through the simplified process. Most cases can now be directly self-approved by the members, or in select instances, by the employer.

Out of the total eight lakh requests received by EPFO for corrections through employers in FY 2024-25, nearly 45 percent can be self-approved by members without employer verification. This change is expected to reduce the average delay caused by employer approvals of Joint Declarations by nearly 28 days. Additionally, requests for changes to EPF account holders lacking a complete e-KYC will be approved at the employer level in about 50 percent of cases without the need for EPFO approval, as noted by the Minister.

At present, around 27 percent of the grievances lodged by members concern member profile/KYC issues. With the introduction of the revised Joint Declaration functionality, the Minister anticipates a significant decrease in member grievances.

Previously, to address common errors in recording name, marital status, and service details during registration, employees needed to make an online request with supporting documentation, which required employer verification and forwarding to EPFO for approval—a procedure known as a joint declaration.

The EPFO has streamlined this process on its portal, allowing employees to self-correct most common personal detail errors without needing employer verification or EPFO approval, provided they have a valid universal account number (UAN) issued after October 1, 2017, when Aadhaar matching became mandatory.

If the UAN was issued before October 1, 2017, corrections can be facilitated by the employer without EPFO’s approval. The requirement for supporting documentation has also been simplified in such cases.

The EPFO is actively pursuing various other reforms, aiming to align its services with those of banks, as stated by the Minister.