Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is a legal organization that was established. by the government of India. Being the country’s largest social security organization, it mainly inspires people to save for retirement, among other responsibilities of the Ministry of Labour and Employment was established in 1951.
This article investigates the role of EPFO raise the social security system in India and lists the channels through which they go about doing it.
EPFO and its Applicability
The Organization of India under the ‘Directive Principles of State Policy’ identifies that the State shall make impressive provisions to protect the right to work, education, and public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness, disablement, and unfair want within the limits of its economic ability.
In restriction to this statement, there was a need for an active social security program in the changing atmosphere. Legislators established legislation for a provident fund in an attempt to ensure that employees and their dependents could lead a decent life once their employment ended.
The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) came into being with the legislation of the employees’ provident fund (EPF) regulation in 1951. The regulation was later changed by the EPF Funds Act, of 1951. The EPF Bill was presented in the parliament in 1952 to give provident funds for employees in industries, mills, factories, and establishments.
The law that governs employees and provident funds is now mentioned as the Employees, Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1952 (Also called Act). The Act has its relevance all over India excluding Jummah and Kashmir.
Structure of EPFO
A tri-partite board manages the Act and all its plans called the Central Board of Trustees (EPF). The board contains agents of the government (Both State & Central), employers, and employees. The board is presided by The Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.
Three Schemes are operated by The Central Board of Trustees (EPF)
- In 1952, The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme.
- In 1955, The Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS).
- In 1976, The Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI).
The EPFO is an organization that was established to help The Central Board of Trustees (EPF) and is under the management control of the Ministry of Labour and Employment; Government of India.
EPFO Benefits
Advantages of the EPF Scheme
Savings Retirement: By involvement in the scheme, particular collect Funds for their retirement, make ensure a secure lifestyle in the later years.
Convenient deductions: Instead of making a large, one-time investment, the company builds inferences from the employee’s monthly salary. This allows for large savings over a long period.
In Emergencies Financial Support: During surprising situations, the EPF scheme can provide employees with financial support.
Future Saving: The EPF scheme allows individuals to save money for the lasting.
Interest Rate EPF: The latest interest rate for PF is 8.15%. It is easy to calculate the accrued interest in an EPF account at the of a fiscal year. Then, both the employer and employee add this interest amount to their contributions to determine the total balance in the account.
Claim Status and Passbook
You can view your passbook and check your claim status online. You can also bring up-to-date/improved basic KYC details online.
Functions of EPFO
The Central Board of Trustees (EPF) relies on EPFO to manage a Provident fund scheme, pension scheme, and insurance scheme for registered establishments in India, covering employees of such organizations and international labor.
EPFO’s Functioning involves
- Enforcement of the Act throughout the country (Excluding Jammu and Kashmir).
- Maintenance of separate accounts.
- Settlement of claims.
- Investment of funds.
- Ensuring prompt pension payments.
- latest Records.
EPFO is also the nodal agency for implementing Bilateral Social Security deals with other countries. Additionally, it is one of the biggest social security managements in India’ both in conditions beneficiary base and the amount of financial transactions undertaken.
The EPFO’s apex decision-making is the Central Board of Trustees. EPFO has been taking various measures to simplify the process of EPF accounts for Employers and Employees by adopting IT-enabled tools and techniques. EPFO has undertaken many digital actions in the current past.
Generally, The EPFO performs a double role of being the management and managing the carrying out of the Act and also works as a service provider for the covered beneficiary.
PF Withdrawal
An employee is permitted to withdraw PF if he/she is not employed for sixteen business days after resigning from the previous employment. EPFO has enabled online EPF withdrawal with an easy way for UANs to link with Adhaar.
Bring up our article on EPF withdrawal online.
EPFO Portal and UAN
EPF users can access their accounts online for running like withdrawal and balance checks. The UAN, a unique 12-digit number, merges multiple members’ IDs from many employers. It provides services like passbook download. Updates KYC and Claim filings. When switching jobs use these services to activate your UAN.
Visit our EPFO Portal Now.
Transfer EPF Online
EPF transfer was possible online without delay, With the launch of UAN, the “Online Transfer Claim Portal”. The transfer procedure has been updated and moved to the “Unified Portal.” This has simplified, eliminated the need for paper, and eased the process of transferring EPF between accounts. For additional information, see our article about the online EPF transfer procedure.
Establishment Online Registration (OLRE)
Has created an online system for establishment registration with EPFO. More and more workers are gaining from the online availability of the PF Code allotment letter.
Universal Account Number (UAN)
EPFO introduced UAN, which acts for many member IDs assigned to separate many employers. The UAN program was initiated in October 2014 under the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakaram. It stands out as one of the most unconventional measures recently implemented by EPFO.
Software that is centrally managed to create Certificates of Coverage for foreign employees
To produce the Certificate of Coverage (CoC) for EPF members working in nations with Social Security Agreements with India, EPFO has introduced an online form using its centralized software.
Missed Call Service and SMS Alerts
The introduction of SMS and missed call services aimed to enhance accessibility to EPF accounts for members who have activated their UAN. Members can send an SMS to 7738299899 with the format EPFOHO UAN. Subsequently, they should include the first three characters of their preferred language. This will allow them to retrieve facts about their KYC status, last contribution, and total EPF balance.
Additionally, members can get information by missing a call to 011-22901406. Members receive SMS alerts regarding withdrawals, interest credit, remittance, and other related information. Additionally, employers receive an SMS for failing to deposit dues.
Adoption of an IT tool for the Exempted Establishment’s Electronic Return
The electronic return filing system makes it simpler and more convenient for example establishments to submit their monthly returns.
Addressing Grievance
Employers and members can file an online complaint over the withdrawal of their EPF, Pension settlement, EPF transfer, and things. Prioritizing the resolution of grievances is our top focus. With systematic oversight at the highest level, we now only have 2,000–3,000 open grievances on any given day. This marks a significant decrease from the previous 20,000 claims. This figure may seem small compared to the 15 crore accounts managed by the EPFO.
The EPFO web page provides access to a number of its circulars. Recently, letters were sent out to inform members about the interest rates on their EPF accounts.
Visit our EPFO grievance portal.