The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) adopted a big set of changes on Monday that will make it easier for nearly seven crore EPF members to use the fund, make it more transparent, and speed up the process of withdrawing money. The Labour Ministry put out a statement saying that the decisions were made during a meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) that was led by Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
Simplified Rules for Partial Withdrawal
The CBT has made a historic decision to relax portion withdrawals. Members can now receive up to 100% of the eligible balance in their Provident Fund, which includes payments from both the employee and the employer.
The 13 complicated rules for withdrawing money have been combined into one simple regulation that falls into three groups:
Basic needs (like sickness, school, and marriage)
Housing Needs
Unique Situations
The restrictions on withdrawals have also been raised. For education-related withdrawals, you can now take out money up to ten times, and for marriage, you can take out money up to five times, instead of the previous maximum of three times for both.
The minimum service requirement for any partial withdrawal has been lowered to 12 months across the board, making it easier to qualify and get access.
Members no longer have to give reasons like natural disasters, unemployment, or epidemics under the “Special Circumstances” category. This is expected to lower the number of claims that are denied and complaints from members.
To make sure that members have enough money for the long term, 25% of their donations will stay in their accounts as a minimum balance. This will continue to generate 8.25% interest each year and compound benefits for a large retirement fund.
These improvements are meant to make it such that all partial withdrawals are automatically settled, which will get rid of paperwork and make life easier for members.
New Deadlines for Final Settlement
The Board has also changed the time frame for early final settlement of EPF accounts from two months to twelve months and the time frame for final pension withdrawal from two months to thirty-six months. This gives members more freedom and time to plan.
“Vishwas Scheme” to Cut Down on Lawsuits
The EPFO started the “Vishwas Scheme” to deal with the long-standing problem of lawsuits over penal fines for late payments. The scheme makes penalties more reasonable and encourages people to follow the rules.
As of May 2025, there were ₹2,406 crore in unpaid criminal damages in more than 6,000 cases. The EPFO’s e-proceedings platform also has 21,000 more cases that might be filed.
The new plan lowers the penal damages rate to a flat 1% per month. For defaults up to 2 months, the cost is 0.25%, and for defaults up to 4 months, it is 0.50%.
The plan will last for six months, but it can be extended for another six months. It covers:
Ongoing lawsuits under Section 14B,
Orders that have been finalized but not paid for, and
Pre-adjudication situations where notices have been sent out but final orders are still to come.
All ongoing cases will be put on hold if people follow the rules. This will cut down on legal backlogs and make it easier for people to follow the rules.
Digital Life Certificates for Pensioners at the Doorstep
In another big welfare project, the EPFO agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to provide Digital Life Certificate services for EPS’95 seniors at their homes.
Each certificate will cost ₹50, which will be paid for by EPFO. This will allow pensioners, especially those who live in rural and isolated areas, to send life certificates from home using IPPB’s large postal network.
This program makes sure that pensions are paid on schedule, that family pensions start faster, and that the Centralised Pension Payment System is more accurate.
EPFO 3.0: Digital Transformation Focused on Members
The EPFO also introduced a full digital transformation framework called EPFO 3.0, which is based on a member-centered hybrid architecture. The new system combines a Core Banking Solution with cloud-native, API-first, microservices-based modules to handle things like account administration, compliance, ERP, and customer care.
When it’s up and running, the system will let
Instant withdrawals and claims that are done automatically,
Self-service systems in several languages,
Contributions that are linked to payroll without any problems, and
Operations that are safe, open, and can grow.
These enhancements show that EPFO is still committed to providing its 30 crore members with a service model that is driven by technology, efficient, and open.
New Investment Oversight and Fund Managers
The Board also agreed to hire four new Fund Managers for EPFO’s debt portfolio, each of whom will work for five years.
The Selection Committee and the Investment Committee, which includes high-ranking officials, board members, and an outside investment specialist, both suggested this action. The goal of this stage is to make sure that EPFO’s investment portfolio is well-managed, diverse, and stable, so that members get the most money back.
Minister Mandaviya also launched several important digital projects at the conference. These projects signify the start of a new period of modernization, efficiency, and openness in the way EPFO delivers services.