Epfo Auto Settlement / Great news for crores of EPFO members! Auto settlement limit increased

EPFO has given relief to its 7.5 crore members by increasing the limit of auto settlement of advance claim from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. This decision was taken in the meeting of the Central Board of Trustees. Now auto mode settlement will be possible even for reasons like education, marriage and housing.

EPFO Auto Settlement: The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has taken an important decision to make the lives of its 7.5 crore members more simple. The organisation has increased the limit of auto settlement of advance claim from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, a total increase of 5 times. The decision was taken by Sumita Dawra, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, in the 113th meeting of the Executive Committee of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) last week. This amendment will help crores of EPFO members to get quick and seamless financial assistance.

Facility to withdraw PF up to Rs 5 lakh

The meeting was held on March 28 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, in which EPFO's Central Provident Fund Commissioner Ramesh Krishnamurthy was also present. Under this decision, after the approval of the CBT, EPFO members can now withdraw PF amount up to Rs 5 lakh through auto settlement.

It is worth mentioning that the auto settlement of advance claims was introduced in 2020, when its limit was fixed at Rs 50,000. In May 2024, EPFO increased this limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, and now it has been increased to Rs 5 lakh.

New categories of auto mode settlement

EPFO has also introduced advance claims for three new categories – education, marriage and housing – to make auto mode settlement more comprehensive. Earlier, PF withdrawal was allowed only for the purpose of illness or hospitalization. This new initiative will be helpful in providing quick financial assistance to EPFO members for their various needs.

To speed up the auto-mode claim settlement process, arrangements have been made to complete it within just 3 days. Currently, more than 95% of the claims are being settled through auto settlement.

Auto Claim Settlement at Historic Level

EPFO has achieved a historic level of auto claim settlement of Rs 2.16 crore during the current financial year till March 6, 2025, as against Rs 89.52 lakh in 2023-24. Apart from this, the rate of rejection of claims has also come down from 50% to 30%.

The verification formalities for PF withdrawal have also been reduced from 27 to 18, and it has been decided to further reduce it to 6. This change will provide EPFO members quick approval of their financial claims and help in meeting their requirements quickly.