Employees Provident Fund
An important information related to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) scheme, which secures the future of millions of employees across the country, has come to light. The Central Government has told in the Parliament that till March 31, 2026, a total of Rs 9,330.56 crore is deposited in the inoperative accounts of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). This means that a large number of employees have not yet claimed the amount deposited in their EPF account.
Rajya Sabha MP R. Minister of State for Labor and Employment Shobha Karandlaje gave this information in response to the question asked by Girirajan. He said that EPFO is continuously running a campaign to make employees and employers aware about such accounts.
What is inactive EPF account?
According to EPFO rules, if there is no new contribution in the EPF account of an employee for three consecutive years after retirement, permanent settlement abroad or death, then it is considered to be an inoperative account. However, under the current rules, interest continues to be earned on the account till the member reaches the age of 58 years.
EPFO has divided such accounts into two categories. The first category includes those accounts which do not have a Universal Account Number (UAN), while the second category includes those accounts which already have a UAN linked to them.
What to do if your account has been deactivated?
If you are still working in an organization where EPF is applicable, then you can transfer the amount deposited in the old account to your new EPF account online or offline. At the same time, if you have retired, then according to the rules of EPFO, you can make a claim to withdraw the entire amount deposited in the account.
Experts say that employees should keep their UAN active from time to time and on changing jobs, the old EPF account should be linked to the new account and transferred. This reduces the chances of the account becoming inactive.
EPFO is running awareness campaign
The Minister of State for Labor said that the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is giving information about EPF services and inoperative accounts to employees and employers through social media and ‘Nidhi Aapke Nicht (NAN) 2.0’ camps. Its objective is to ensure that the hard-earned money of employees does not remain unclaimed for long.
Government also gave important information regarding EPS pension
The government also clarified the position regarding the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS). The minister said that the pension fund of EPS is a pooled fund, in which the contributions of employers and the central government are accumulated. When a member or his family becomes eligible for pension, payment is made from this fund.
The government also clarified that there is no time limit for claiming pension or withdrawal benefit under EPS. Whenever an eligible member makes a claim and his application is approved, he is paid the full amount including arrears.
In such a situation, if you have ever changed your job, have retired or your old EPF account has not been used for a long time, then definitely check its status once. It is possible that your hard-earned money is also lying in these inactive accounts.
