Major Changes in EPF Withdrawal: EPF Withdrawals May Soon Be Allowed Through ATMs and UPI

In a move to make it easier for employees to access their savings, Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced two big changes related to Provident Fund (PF) accounts on Tuesday.

The first major change has been made to the EPFO auto-settlement system, increasing the advance withdrawal limit for Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) members from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. By increasing this limit, the body aims to provide financial support to the EPFO members during emergencies.

Along with this change, the EPFO Members may soon be allowed to withdraw their Employees Provident Fund directly through ATMs or even UPI, so that the members can quickly access their retirement savings without following any lengthy process for withdrawal. The labour ministry is planning and working towards a project where EPF members will be enabled to withdraw their PF money through ATM debit cards or UPI.

As per Mansukh Mandaviya, soon, ATM machines will show an option to access your PF account. If eligible, you will be able to withdraw money without filling out any forms or applying through the EPFO website. This will be possible because most people’s PF accounts are already linked to their Aadhaar. However, the members can only withdraw a certain portion of their PF balance and not the whole amount, as EPFO does not hold any banking license.

Currently, the EPFO members have to apply for withdrawal claims to withdraw their PF money, which consumes a lot of time. The auto-settlement system, which was brought during the COVID-19 pandemic, also takes up to 3 three days for claim settlement.

For around 70 million salaried individuals, the PF account is often their main source of retirement savings and emergency funds. These changes are made to make the system faster, easier, and more accessible, so people can access their savings whenever they need them.

With the new system, soon, employees may be able to withdraw money directly from their PF accounts using debit cards at ATMs, without filling out any forms.