Provident Fund: Soon, no need to file EPF transfer claims at EPFO on changing jobs: How new system will work

Transfer of the employee provident fund (EPF) transfer is a hectic task that each subscriber of retirement fund body EPFO has to undergo while changing his or her job. However, from next fiscal this won't be the case, according to a labour ministry official, quoted by the news agency PTI. The official said that from next fiscal EPF subscribers would not require to file employee provident fund (EPF) transfer claims while changing jobs as the process would be made automated. This will enable the employee to get the credits of his EPF contribution during his previous tenure with old employer into his or her UAN automatically. At present, the subscribers of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) are required to file transfer of EPF claims on changing jobs despite having a universal account number (UAN). The EPFO gets about eight lakh EPF transfer claims every year.

"The EPFO is testing the automation of EPF transfer on changing jobs on a pilot basis. The facility for all subscribers is expected to be launched any time next year," a senior labour ministry official was quoted by the PTI. 

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"The EPFO had engaged the C-DAC to study its operating systems to achieve the goal of becoming a paperless organisation. At present, 80 per cent of the work is being done online. The automated transfer of EPF on changing jobs is one of the tools to be used to achieve that objective," he added.

The official explained that the moment a new employer would file the monthly EPF return including the UAN of the new employee, the EPF contributions and interest earned on that would be automatically transferred.

The news agency further quoted the Labour Ministry official, "After the automation of the EPF transfer on changing jobs, the subscribers would be benefitted immensely as the UAN would be like a bank account. No matter a subscriber changes place or employer, his or her social security benefits would be accessed through the UAN. That would remain the same throughout his or her life."