Are You Aware of recent changes in EPF Scheme

The Employees Provident Fund scheme, under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, is one of the most resourceful and beneficial schemes for employees in India. The most essential benefit of this fund is the fact that it is tax exempted. Since the savings under this scheme run for a long time, it serves the retirement goals of an individual.

EPFO, the organization which regulates the scheme, has made various significant changes and has provided benefits for employees in India. In order to avail the benefits of EPF, an employee needs to become an active member under this scheme. Upon doing so, he / she straightaway becomes eligible for utilizing the Provident Fund, and availing the pension benefits as well as the advantages of certain insurance schemes. Some benefits are as under:

Easy Withdrawal in Case of Urgency

In case of an emergency, the collected sum of money can be withdrawn from the funds by the employees prematurely. Moreover, under any circumstance if an employee has lost his job or on accounts of any disability, the expenses of the employee can be taken care of by using these funds.

Digital India Revolution

Hatching on to the Digital India revolution, EPFO brought in the Aadhaar linking facility through the UMANG Mobile App for making it easier and convenient for the members. Once the employee has got his Aadhar linkage done, he can now process claims online or withdraw funds easily. Furthermore, in this App, there are employee centric services which can be used by the members for viewing their passbooks, raising any claim and even tracking those claims.

Housing for All

The motive of Housing for all by 2022 has been adhered to by EPFO wherefore they amended the EPF Scheme, 1952 to provide a helping hand in acquiring affordable homes to the EPF members by allowing withdrawal from the provident fund to the limit of 90% of their total PF accumulation. This by far has been one of the greatest measures taken for the benefit of the members.

Easy Complaint Filling Process

It has become rather useful, and convenient for the members to register a complaint in case of any grievances by tapping on the ‘Register Grievance’ section at EPFiGMS.gov.in. After filling in the details, one can also easily upload relevant files pertaining to the registered grievance, and thereby track the status of the same.

Be it the employees’ urgent financial requirements in case of an emergency or education of their children, or for entrepreneurial ideas wherein there are immediate investment requirements for starting a business, the usefulness of the provisions under the EPF scheme is immense for middle-class and lower-class employees. It is employer’s liability to ensure 100% EPF compliance, which form an intrinsic part of the legal processes for calculation of EPF, is ensured by hiring people internally or a compliance management service provide can be hired to help. This makes the documentation and processing smooth and ensures the satisfaction and convenience of employees at all levels.