New EPFO Measures Reduce Rejections, Ensure 3-Day Claim Settlements

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has long been struggling with its old IT infrastructure and operational procedures, giving rise to complaints. Whether it was to change any detail in the EPF account, transferring the account to the new employer, withdrawing the funds, or taking an advance, the complaint list is long. However, lately, the organisation has taken several measures to improve the system and streamline its operational procedures. Recently, on July 28, 2025, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Shobha Karandlaje, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, provided details of the number of complaints after the introduction of the self-declaration-based claim settlement process.

According to the data provided, the number of complaints reported in the financial year (FY) 2025-26 so far stands at 3.29 lakh compared to the 27.66 lakh complaints made in the entire FY 2024-25, due to uploading poor-quality documents.

Let us see what the government says about the key changes made by the EPFO in the process and their impact.

Self-Declaration: The self-declaration was introduced by the EPFO in 2017 to streamline the claim process. Earlier, subscriber had to submit different documents to claim advance money from their EPF account. The process was lengthy and time-consuming, which tends to be frustrating in times of urgent need for finances.

The self-declaration rule became effective on April 3, 2025. According to the government reply, the rule was adopted to “rationalise the process” and “reposing trust in the member”. For self-declaration claims, a subscriber does not need to submit any documents for approval from EPFO. As there is no need to upload a copy of a cheque leaf or a passbook anymore, more than 1.9 crore members have benefited so far.

Auto-Settlement: The extension of auto-settlement to medical and other claims for advance withdrawal has also reduced claim rejection. According to the government’s reply, the rejection reasons have also been reduced from the previous 44 to 18 reasons. The claims under auto-settlement are now settled within three days of making complaints.

Aadhar OTP Or Face Authentication: Now, a subscriber can file the claim when the account is activated with Aadhar OTP or through face authentication. The withdrawal amount or other claim settlement is sent directly to the subscriber’s bank account after verification. There are now concurrent, internal, and statutory audits to identify the violations in the process so that they can be corrected timely manner.

Advance Withdrawal Limit: The advance withdrawal limit has also been increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh in April last year (2024) for medical needs. Later, the enhanced limit was extended to other claims as well, including advance withdrawals for housing and marriage. The limit for these claims has been enhanced from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

Online Update Of Personal Details Without Approval: Subscribers, whose universal account number (UAN) is validated with Aadhar, can now update their personal details like name, date of birth, father's or mother’s name, marital status, gender, spouse name, etc., online without requiring any approval from EPFO or their employer. The self-correction function has also reduced the number of complaints.