NEW DELHI: The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is looking to increase the limit for auto settlement option for its subscribers from the current Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
While the move has been endorsed by the executive committee, it will need a green light from the central board of trustees. A govt source said the limit will be decided by the central board. In May 2024, the EPFO increased auto settlement of the advanced claim limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
Auto settlement is available to deal with four specific situations – medical treatment, education, marriage and housing.
EPFO recently simplified the process for auto settlement resulting in a majority of claims being processed within three days, instead of weeks earlier. As a result, EPFO claim settlement is expected to cross the 6 crore mark for the first time. The number of auto settlement members has more than doubled from a little under 90 lakh during the last financial year to nearly 2 crore this year.
Now, only 8% of transfer claims require member and employer attestation, while 48% are submitted directly by members and 44% are automatically processed. While EPFO has already reduced the number of processes from 27 to 18, there is a proposal to slash it to six .
