· EPFO directs its offices to allow part withdrawals during final settlements of subscribers' claims
· Policy addresses payment delays due to employer's non-remittance, among other reasons
· Subscribers can receive part payments while awaiting full contributions.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) directed its offices to allow part withdrawal at the time of final settlement in case of delay for certain reasons. According to the EPFO’s recent circular, the department has been receiving complaints regarding the rejection of settlement claims by the EPFO for reasons, such as short payment or non-remittance by the employer, or non-transfer of account with previous employers, among other reasons. However, ultimately, the sufferer is EPF subscribers, whose money gets stuck, resulting in numerous follow-ups with the EPFO and the employer. The lack of service on the part of the employer leads to trouble for the employees, which further gives rise to more complaints against EPFO.
The EPFO circular, dated September 19, 2025, acknowledges these reasons for non-payment of final settlements. It reads, “Instances of rejecting the final Provident Fund settlement claims citing various reasons of short/non-remittance of contributions by employers for certain periods or non-transfer of previous PF account/past accumulations, etc., have been noticed.”
EPFO’s circular referred to para 10.11 of the Manual of Accounting Procedure-IIA for allowing part payment. The para is about part payment under certain contingencies, such as in case of defaulting establishments, when past accumulations are not realised in full, if Form 3A is not received, PF transferred not received from the previous establishment, an EPFO subscriber is deceased, and a portion of the amount is not claimed by the eligible person. According to the provision, part payment is allowed under these situations.
Per the recent circular, “Manual of Accounting Procedure Part-IIA categorically allows processing of such claims for part payment of the available accumulations in the account of the member. Needless to say, on receipt of the full contributions or the transfer-in amounts, further action should be taken to pay the balance to the members expeditiously.”
It advised all government offices to settle subscribers’ withdrawal claims, and pay part of the amount when the claim is made, and the remaining amount when the full amount is received. Note that this is not a new provision, but a clarification and reminder of the existing provisions, which were not being implemented, leaving subscriber distressed and complaining about their stuck money with the EPFO.
In financial year 2024-25, EPFO received a total of 1.6 million (16,01,202) grievances in the EPFiGMS, a portal for asking queries related to the Employee Provident Fund (EPF), and lodging EPFO-related complaints.
In addition to this, 1.7 million (1,74,328) complaints were lodged in CPGRAMS in the same year. This is the portal for lodging complaints against different government ministries and departments. One can track the complaint as well on this portal.
