In a significant effort to enhance access to provident funds for its 75 million members, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is increasing the auto-settlement limit under its advanced claim system from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. This initiative, aimed at improving the "Ease of Living" for millions, was approved by Sumita Dawra, Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, during the 113th Executive Committee meeting of the Central Board of Trustees held last week in Srinagar, as reported by ANI.

Once the proposal is ratified by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), EPFO members will be able to withdraw up to Rs 5 lakh through the Automated Settlement of Advance Claims (ASAC). The auto-settlement feature was initially introduced in April 2020 for medical emergencies and has since expanded to cover education, marriage, and housing needs.

In May 2024, EPFO had already increased the claim limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. With the new proposed increase, withdrawals of up to Rs 5 lakh are expected to be processed in as little as three days, with 95% of these transactions occurring without any human intervention, thanks to EPFO’s AI-driven auto-claim solution.

As of March 6, 2025, EPFO recorded a remarkable 2.16 crore auto-claim settlements this financial year, a significant rise from 89.52 lakh in 2023–24. The rejection rates have also decreased sharply, from 50% to 30%.

To further streamline the process, the number of validation requirements for PF withdrawals has been reduced from 27 to 18, with plans to cut it down to just six.

In another major development, EPFO is set to incorporate the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) into its withdrawal system. Members will soon be able to receive their PF funds directly through popular apps like Paytm, Google Pay, and PhonePe. According to Sumita Dawra, the Ministry has approved the proposal from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), with a rollout expected by May or June 2025.

The introduction of the UPI option is anticipated to significantly accelerate claim settlements—from the current 2–3 days to potentially just a few minutes—while also reducing rejection rates and enhancing transparency. This initiative may eventually be extended to other schemes such as the General Provident Fund (GPF) and Public Provident Fund (PPF).