EPFO Updates: 5 Key Changes Announced In January 2025 You Must Know

Some big changes were announced in January 2025 for Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) subscribers. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) kickstarted the year with some major updates that are expected to make the correction system more efficient for EPF members. These span from EPF transfers to joint declaration upgrades.

Let’s review in detail what these changes are and what they mean for you.

1) EPF Transfer Updates

EPFO has simplified the process of transferring Provident Fund (PF) accounts for members who change jobs. According to an EPFO circular issued on January 15, 2025, the need for employees to submit online transfer claims through the previous or current employer has been removed for some specified cases, provided the name, date of birth, and gender match across accounts.

Same UAN And Same Aadhaar: If there are multiple member IDs linked to the same Universal Account Number (UAN) (created on or after September 10, 2017) and the Aadhaar card is linked to the member’s UAN, then transfers between these accounts will be allowed automatically.

Multiple UANs, Same Aadhaar: If you are someone who has multiple member IDs with different UANs but all are linked to the same Aadhaar, then you can transfer between these accounts.

Same UAN (Issued Before September 2017): For members whose UAN was created before September 1, 2017, and is linked with Aadhaar, transfers between accounts linked to the same UAN are allowed.

Different UANs (At Least One Issued Before September 2017): In cases where at least one of the UANs was created before September 1, 2017, and is linked to the same Aadhaar, then transfers are allowed between these accounts.

2) Profile Updates

If your UAN is already linked to Aadhaar, you can now update your profile details, such as your name, date of birth, gender, marital status, and more, directly on the EPFO portal. The only exception? Only, in certain cases where UAN was obtained prior to September 1, 2017, the updation would require certification of the employer only.

3) Simplified Joint Declaration Process

The EPFO has introduced new guidelines for the Joint Declaration (JD) procedure, which simplifies the process for both members and employers.

The updated guidelines, released on January 16, 2025, categorise members based on UAN generation dates and Aadhaar validation status, ensuring more efficient handling of requests.

Additionally, members can now upload documents through DigiLocker. However, if DigiLocker is not feasible, a single PDF with at least two supporting documents (or one document through DigiLocker) will be enough to complete the JD process.

In cases where employees themselves can execute changes, no documents need to be uploaded.

EPFO further said in a notification: “Out of the total 8 lakh requests received at EPFO for correction through employers in FY 2024-25, almost 45 per cent of the change requests can be self-approved by the member without employer’s verification or approval at EPFO.”

On average, this will eliminate a delay of nearly 28 days taken by an employer to approve

JDs. “The request for change/correction of EPF Account holders not having a full eKYC shall get approved at the employer level in approximately another 50 per cent of the cases without the requirement for any approval at EPFO,” the release added.

EPFO expects these revisions to immediately benefit around 390,000 members whose requests are pending at various stages.

If any member who can self-approve has already filed his/her request which is pending with the employer, the member can delete the already filed request and self-approve as per the simplified process.

The majority of the cases could directly be self-approved by the members themselves or in some selected cases by the employer.

“Currently, around 27 per cent of the grievances filed by the members relate to member profile/KYC issues, and with the introduction of the revised JD functionality, it is expected that there shall be a drastic reduction in the number of grievances being filed by the members,” EPFO said.

4) Convenient Pension Payments

For retirees, the introduction of the Centralised Pension Payment System (CPPS) is expected to be a game-changer. According to this new system, which was launched at the beginning of January 2025, pensioners can now receive their payments from any bank branch in India, with no more restrictions on using a particular bank. This is to ensure that pensioners receive their money on time.

5) Updates For Higher Pension

Further, EPFO has issued a fresh set of guidelines to clarify the pension process for higher-income earners under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS).

Under these changes, the fund has provided;

• Clear pension computation across different categories

• Strict adherence to trust rules for exempted establishments

• A clear separation of dues and pension arrears to avoid overlap

These changes are supposed to create fewer bureaucratic hurdles and smoother experience for EPF members, pensioners, and job changers. Keeping up with these updates will help you manage your PF account better and avoid unnecessary stress.