In a welcome change for 7 crore active subscribers of the Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), EPF members will now earn more interest on their deposited money during claim settlement.
This is due to a recent rule change by EPFO, which also aims to speed up the settlement process of provident fund claims.
New EPF Claim Settlement Rules
The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of EPFO has approved an important change to the rules regarding interest payment during claim settlement.
Previously, claims settled by the 24th of the month only received interest up to the end of the previous month.
With the new rules, interest will now be paid up until the date the claim is settled, ensuring that EPF members get a fairer share of interest.
More Interest for EPF Members
Thanks to this new decision, EPF members will see an increase in the interest on their provident fund balances.
Previously, if a claim was withdrawn before the 24th of the month, interest was only calculated up to the last day of the previous month.
This often resulted in a loss of interest for members. Now, with the new system, members will receive interest up until the settlement date, preventing these losses.
Faster Claim Processing and Timely Settlements
Under the old system, claims made between the 25th and the end of the month were not processed to ensure that EPF members didn’t lose out on interest.
With the change, all claims will be processed for the full month, reducing the number of pending claims, improving the speed of settlement, and making better use of resources.
EPF Claim Settlements in 2024-25
As of the financial year 2023-24, EPFO has settled 4.45 crore provident fund claims, totaling Rs 1.82 lakh crore. In the current financial year (2024-25), EPFO has already settled 3.83 crore claims worth Rs 1.57 lakh crore.
