EPFO EDLI Scheme: What is EDLI Scheme? What is the maximum insurance cover available under EDLI? Do I have to pay separate premium for EDLI scheme? How much time does it take to get EDLI claim money?
Crores of people in the country work in the private sector and every month PF is deducted from their salary. But a large number of these are such employees who are not aware that along with the PF account, they also get an important insurance protection. The special thing is that employees do not have to pay any separate premium for this insurance.
If you are a member of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), you automatically become part of a scheme under which your family can get financial assistance of up to lakhs of rupees in difficult circumstances.
What is EDLI scheme?
EPFO provides the benefit of Employee Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme to its members. It is a life insurance protection scheme, the purpose of which is to provide financial support to the employee’s family. If an employee dies while on the job, a lump sum insurance amount is provided to his nominee or legal heir. This assistance acts as a financial support for the family in difficult times.
Get insurance cover without spending a single rupee
The biggest feature of EDLI scheme is that the employee does not have to make any separate payment for it. The entire cost of this insurance is borne by the employer i.e. the company. This is the reason that all the eligible employees associated with EPFO automatically come under the purview of this scheme and they do not need to buy any separate application or policy.
How much insurance cover do you get?
Under the EDLI scheme, a maximum insurance benefit of up to Rs 7 lakh can be given. The insurance amount is determined based on the last salary structure of the employee and the average amount deposited in his PF account. However, under certain circumstances, a minimum benefit of up to Rs 2.5 lakh is also assured. Therefore, this scheme is considered very important for those families whose main source of income is a working member.
Who gets the benefits?
In case of death of an employee during his service period, benefits are given to the following people:
- To the nominee registered in the EPF account
- If there is no nominee then the family member
- to the legal heir
- In case of minor beneficiary, his/her guardian
All employees should keep updating the nominee information in their PF account from time to time so that there is no problem of any kind in future.
Important warning from EPFO regarding e-Nomination
Recently EPFO has advised the members that merely filling e-Nomination is not enough. After entering the nominee details, it is also necessary to verify the same through Aadhaar based e-Sign process. If this process is not completed, there may be problems in future in settlement of claims related to PF, pension and EDLI. Therefore, employees should visit their UAN portal to ensure that their nominee information is completely verified.
How to claim EDLI?
If an eligible member dies, his family or nominee has to submit a claim along with some required documents. Generally the following documents are required for this-
- Form 5IF (EDLI Claim Form)
- death certificate
- Identity card of the nominee or claimant
- Bank account information (passbook or canceled cheque)
- UAN or EPF member details
- Succession certificate in case there is no nominee
These documents can be verified from the last employer and submitted to the regional EPFO office. Online claim facility is also available in many cases.
In how many days do you get the money?
After verification of documents, the insurance amount is transferred directly to the bank account of the beneficiary. The claim settlement process is usually completed within approximately 30 days. However, changes in timing are possible depending on the status of documents and verification process.
Why is information about this scheme important?
Lakhs of employees working in the private sector consider PF only as a savings scheme, whereas the awareness about the insurance protection provided with it is very low. The EDLI scheme provides financial support to the family at a time when it is needed most. Therefore, every EPF member should regularly check his/her nominee details, UAN account and e-Nomination status so that the family can get the benefit without any hindrance when needed.