The pendency of Provident Fund (PF) settlement claims has come down to almost half, compared to three years ago, due to the digitisation of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), under the the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
According to ministry figures, 2.32 lakh cases were pending for settlement in 2013-14, which came down to 1.18 lakh in 2015-16. Ministry officials expect a further decline in this number, with the massive digitisation of the process of settlement.
In 2015-16, as many as 118.66 lakh claims were settled, out of which 98% cases were settled within 20 days, as per a reply given by Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya during the recent monsoon session of the Lok Sabha. The government, as per a notification last year, has reduced the settlement period from 30 days to 20 days.
According to an official, the faster settlement has been possible after the introduction of the Universal Account Number (UAN). Around 2.89 crore EPF members have activated their UAN numbers on the UAN portal, as on 30 September 2016. The UAN allows portability and consolidation of all previous PF accounts. There are over 3.54 crore PF subscribers and 49.22 lakh pensioners.
“The process of settlement has been simplified. Those employees whose details like Aadhar or PAN and bank account numbers have been seeded in their UAN and whose UAN have been activated by their employers, can submit their claim forms directly to the EPFO, without attestation from their employers. We have introduced a Online Transfer Claim Portal (OTCP) to facilitate the seamless transfer of claims,” the official said.
Following massive digitisation, Provident Fund payments are being done through National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) and Core Banking Solution (CBS). As a result, over 99% of allied payments, including monthly pension payments, are done electronically.
There has been considerable transparency in the EPFO in the last two years. Any EPF member can easily access information about his/her PF status online on the website www.epfindia.com.
One can also check the status through three new mobile-based services—mobile app, SMS based UAN activation and missed call service. One needs to just give a missed call on 011-22901406 from one’s registered mobile number and one will know the amount in one’s PF account and also the last payment made by one’s employer, through SMS.