New Delhi: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has taken a significant step towards enhancing the ease of living for its millions of members by introducing auto-mode settlement for advance claims related to education, marriage, and housing. This move comes as part of EPFO’s commitment to streamlining processes and providing efficient services to its members.
The initiative builds on the success of the auto-mode settlement introduced earlier for illness-related advance claims. Shri Anirudh Prasad’s story stands as a testament to the effectiveness of this system. Having applied for an advance for illness on 09.05.2024, Shri Prasad’s claim was settled within a remarkable three days, receiving an amount of Rs. 92,143/- on 11.05.2024.
With the success of auto-mode settlement for illness claims, EPFO has expanded its scope to include advance claims for education, marriage, and housing purposes. The limit for these claims has also been doubled from Rs. 50,000/- to Rs. 1,00,000/-, providing greater financial assistance to members.
During the financial year 2023-24, EPFO settled approximately 4.45 crore claims, out of which over 60% were advance claims. Significantly, around 89.52 lakh of these claims were settled using the auto-mode feature.
The auto-claim solution operates entirely through an IT-driven system, eliminating the need for human intervention. Claims meeting the necessary KYC, eligibility, and bank validation criteria are processed automatically for payment. This streamlined process reduces the settlement period from 10 days to just 3-4 days for such advances.
Introduced nationwide on 6th May 2024, this initiative has already shown promising results. EPFO has approved 13,011 cases, amounting to Rs. 45.95 crores, providing speedy service to members in need.