Now EPFO ​​members can change personal details, transfer EPF online without intervention of employers

More than 7.6 million members of the pension fund organization EPFO ​​can now change personal details such as name and date of birth online without employer verification or EPFO’s approval with a new facility issued on Saturday.

Alternatively, Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) members with KYC EPF (Aadhaar seeded) accounts can submit their EPF transfer applications online through Aadhaar OTP (one time pass) directly without the need for employer intervention.

Union Labor and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launched the two new facilities on Saturday.

The minister said that about 27 percent of the complaints filed by members are related to member/KYC issues and that will come down significantly after decentralization.

He also said that large employers who have a large burden of such applications will benefit.

The minister said EPFO ​​has simplified the joint declaration process on the EPFO ​​portal by allowing employees to self-correct the most common errors in personal details such as name, date of birth, gender, nationality, father’s/mother’s name, marital status, spouse. name, date of joining and date of leaving, without verification by employer or approval by EPFO.

The facility will be available to members whose UAN (universal account number) was issued after October 1, 2017 (when Aadhaar matching was made mandatory).

No supporting documents are required in such cases, said the minister.

If the UAN was issued before October 1, 2017, the employer can correct the details without EPFO’s permission.

The requirement of a supporting document has been simplified in such cases.

Only when the UAN is not linked to Aadhaar, any correction will have to be physically submitted to the employer and after verification forwarded to EPFO ​​for approval, he explained.

UAN registration is done by the employer to the employee at the time of joining. For many workers, mistakes are made by employers in recording father’s/spouse’s name, marital status, nationality and service details during the registration process or later.

To correct these errors, the employee had to make an online application with supporting documents.

The application will have to be verified by the employer and forwarded to EPFO ​​for approval before any change is made. This plan was called the Joint Declaration.

Of the 8 lakh applications sent to EPFO ​​by employers in FY 24-25, it was seen that only 40 percent were sent within 5 days, 47 percent were sent after 10 days and the average time taken by the employer was 28. days.

The simplification will provide relief to the employees in 45 percent of the cases through quick processing through Aadhaar OTP verification and the balance 50 percent of the cases through the employer himself.

If any member who cannot self-certify has submitted their pending application to the employer, the member can delete the submitted application and self-certify according to the simplified process.

This will benefit nearly 3.9 lakh pending employer cases till date.

Regarding simplifying the process of EPF account transfer applications, the minister said that EPF members with fully KYC compliant EPF accounts can submit Online Fund Transfer Applications through Aadhaar OTP directly with EPFO ​​without the need for employer intervention.

If the number of claims filed (1.3 Crore) during FY 2024-25 is considered more than 94 percent claims (1.2 crore) will reach EPFO ​​immediately.

The turnaround time for processing the EPF transfer application will be significantly reduced as it does not require the employer’s consent.

If any member has filed a pending transfer claim with the employer, the member can delete the already filed claim and submit the claim directly to EPFO.

Simplification will also significantly reduce member complaints (currently 17% of total complaints related to referral-related issues) and associated rejections.

Large employers who are heavily responsible for approving such cases will experience significant improvements in ease of doing business.

EPFO’s internal processes are also being streamlined to process the transfer claim during this month which will make the process smooth.

Currently, any online application for transfer of PF account in case of job change has to be verified by the employer before it is sent to EPFO.

In this process on average 12 to 13 days are taken by the employers before the claim reaches EPFO ​​for confirmation of transfer.

In the last nine months, nearly 20 lakh applications are pending from employers for more than 15 days.

The minister also said that many plans are being taken to improve the provision of basic services by EPFO ​​with the aim of making them compatible with the banking system.