New EPFO Rules Effective Today

On April 1st, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) gears up to implement a reform. According to reports, individuals transitioning between jobs will no longer have to grapple with the cumbersome process of manually transferring their Provident Fund (PF) balance to their new employer. Instead, in a move aimed at streamlining the process, the EPFO will automatically transfer the old PF balance to the new employer, sparing account holders the hassle of navigating through paperwork and administrative hurdles.

“This move marks a significant shift in how employees manage their Provident Funds. By eliminating the need for manual requests and administrative red tape, EPFO aims to empower workers with greater control over their savings,” remarked Ashish Aggarwal, Director of Acube Ventures, reflecting on the impending reform.

With this development, individuals embarking on new career ventures can breathe a sigh of relief, bidding farewell to the arduous task of tracking their PF contributions amidst job transitions.

Under EPF regulations, employees are mandated to contribute 12 per cent of their monthly basic salary, with employers matching this contribution.

The Universal Account Number (UAN) is poised to play a pivotal role in facilitating this online PF transfer. Serving as a centralised platform, UAN allows for the seamless consolidation of multiple EPF accounts under a single member, offering a slew of services including dynamic updates, transfer initiation upon job changes and monthly SMS notifications regarding PF contributions.

In another development, the EPFO revealed a robust addition of 16.02 lakh new members in January 2024, as per provisional payroll data released by the Ministry of Labour. With approximately 8.08 lakh newly enrolled members during this period, the EPFO's data underscores a steady growth trajectory in membership figures, reflecting the evolving dynamics of India's workforce.