PF Account Portability

This information was given by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State (IC) for Labour and Employment, in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

The Universal Account Number (UAN) provides portability for the employees covered under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions (EPF & MP) Act, 1952. It enables portability of Provident Fund (PF) accumulation when the details of Bank Account, Aadhaar and Permanent Account Number (PAN) seeded in UAN database of the member and are verified by employer on change of job.

The total number of UAN seeded with Aadhaar and are portable are 25,70,274

As per para 72(6) of the Employees’ Provident Funds (EPF) Scheme, 1952, certain amounts are classified as Inoperative Accounts. All such Inoperative Accounts have, however, definite claimants.  As on 31.03.2016, an amount of Rs. 40,865.14 crore had been classified as Inoperative Accounts in Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF).

The following actions have been taken by Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to facilitate payments from inoperative accounts:

(i)  EPFO has launched a portal namely Inoperative Accounts Online Help Desk to assist the members to identify their inoperative accounts.

(ii) Awareness campaigns have been undertaken through electronic as well as print media from time to time to educate the members to transfer or withdraw their PF accumulations.

The total amount paid to the beneficiaries from inoperative accounts during the last four years is as under: