EPFO: Visiting government offices for a long time for small tasks related to Provident Fund (PF) is now going to be a thing of the past. Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has made a major change in its digital services, which will make the lives of crores of employed people of the country easier. With the implementation of the new ‘Centralized IT System’ (CITES), withdrawing PF, transferring or checking your balance has become faster and more transparent than ever before. The biggest relief is that now advance claim up to Rs 5 lakh will be passed automatically without any human intervention and no form will have to be filled for PF transfer on change of job.
Toe settlement limit now 5 lakhs
EPFO has completely changed the rules for withdrawal of money. Where earlier the limit for auto settlement was only Rs 1 lakh, it has now been directly increased to Rs 5 lakh. Not only this, 13 old and complicated rules related to PF withdrawal have been abolished and only 3 easy categories (need, house and special circumstances) have been decided. Now you can easily withdraw up to 75 percent of your total PF balance.
The best thing about the new system is that at the time of filing the claim, the system will tell you how much money you can withdraw. If you pay more than the prescribed limit, you will get an immediate alert. If there is any deficiency or mistake in the form, information will be available in advance, due to which the fear of claim rejection will almost be eliminated. The new central payment system will send money directly to your bank account as soon as the claim is settled. In case of any deficiency, there will be facility to give online reply.
PF transfer will happen automatically as soon as job is changed
Changing jobs is a common thing for those working in the private sector, but transferring PF from the old company has always been a complicated task. In the new system, as soon as you change jobs, your PF will automatically be transferred to the account of the new company. For this, neither will you have to make any separate application nor will you have to wait for the approval of the old or new company.
All PF data across the country is now safe in a single central database. Its direct advantage is that now you can get your work done from any EPFO office in the country. The old obligation of your regional office has now been completely abolished. You will see PF balance, claim status, service record and all benefits at one place on a single portal.
Interest money will come to the account by 15th July
PF account holders eagerly wait for their interest every year. Earlier, one had to wait till October-November for this, but after the entire process has been automated, this wait is now over. By July 15, interest at the rate of 8.25 percent will be credited in about 34 crore accounts. Through this new system, interest worth about Rs 1.44 lakh crore will reach directly into people’s accounts. Another big financial benefit is that now interest on PF will be available till the date of final approval of the claim, which will bring additional profits to the members.
Big relief to pensioners
This benefit of digital transformation is not limited to employees only, but EPS pensioners are also getting direct benefits from it. Now pensioners can go to any PF office in the country and submit their life certificate. Apart from this, your pension will now be easily deposited into any bank account in the country. It will no longer matter in the new system which office your PPO is attached to.
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