EPFO sets up online helpdesk to trace inoperative accounts

New Delhi, Feb 18: In order to help its members trace inoperative PF accounts, which have a balance of Rs 27,000 crore, for final settlement or transfer the money into their latest accounts, retirement fund body EPFO has set up an online helpdesk.

Using this online helpdesk, the holders of the inoperative accounts can trace out their accounts and go in for either settlement or transfer of PF to their present accounts, an official said.

The inoperative accounts are those accounts wherein the contribution has not been received for 36 months. EPFO had stopped payment of interest to such accounts from April 1, 2011.

The official said that this move would help the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to settle these inoperative PF accounts. The decision to set up helpdesk follows instruction given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the ‘Shrameva Jayate’ programme regarding the settlement of inoperative accounts having Rs 27,000 crores as balance.

This online helpdesk can be accessed through EPFO’s website. The member shall be prompted to provide the known details of his/her employment in a specially designed proforma including establishment code, PF account number, address, state, city, date of joining etc. Likewise, personal information is also to be provided like name, mobile number, Date of Birth, Name of Father / Husband, e-mail Id, contact address, Aadhar number, Bank A/c No. etc.

The members are expected to provide the information to the extent available with them. Thereafter, a reference ID is created for future reference and tracking.

Based on the reference ID generated, the field office concerned (where the member held his PF account) shall contact the member and guide him for getting the settlement or effecting the PF transfer as the case may be. EPFO expects that introduction of the portable Universal Account Number for PF is expected to greatly facilitate the above initiative as UAN would enable consolidation of multiple previous PF account numbers with the present one.

In addition to this, the recent e-governance initiative of EPFO such as Online Transfer Claim portal (OTCP), the introduction of batch processing software for updating the annual accounts of the subscribers have helped the body to zero-in on the Inoperative Accounts and take necessary corrective action.

EPFO has also issued directions to the field formations to organise camps to identify and facilitate settlement of Inoperative Accounts and ensure that the money goes to the rightful claimant. EPFO is also making efforts to ascertain the present status of the beneficiaries including the current address, current employment, whether the member is a UAN allottee, the bank account details and Aadhar details of the member.

PTI