The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has introduced an automated system for processing advance claims related to education, marriage, and housing. This automated system eliminates the need for manual intervention and significantly speeds up the claim settlement process.
Previously, the auto-claim settlement facility was only available for illness advances. Now, this facility has been extended to all claims under paragraphs 68K (education and marriage purposes) and 68B (housing purpose) of the EPF Scheme, 1952. Additionally, the claim limit has been doubled from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,00,000.
The entire auto-settlement process is driven by the IT system, eliminating human intervention. Any claim with KYC, eligibility, and bank validation is automatically processed for payment by IT tools. As a result, the claim settlement period has been reduced from 10 days to within 3-4 days for such advances.
Claims that are not validated by the system are not returned or rejected. Instead, they are subjected to a second level of scrutiny and approval.
This expansion of auto-claims to housing, marriage, and education purposes is expected to benefit lakhs of EPFO members by providing them with timely access to funds for their educational, marital, or housing requirements.
Since its launch on May 6, 2024, EPFO has approved 13,011 cases under this initiative, disbursing Rs. 45.95 crores and providing speedy service to its members.
