The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation on Monday sanctioned liberalised part withdrawals for over seven crore of its subscribers, facilitating up to 100% EPF withdrawal.
The Central Board of Trustees, the chief executive body of EPFO, run by Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, broke new ground with its decisions during its meeting, a Labour Ministry statement said on Monday.
To improve the Ease of Living of EPF members, the Central Board of Trustees decided to simplify the partial withdrawal provisions of the EPF Scheme by combining 13 complex provisions into a one, streamlined rule classified into three types, which are, Essential Needs (illness, education, marriage), Housing Needs and Special Circumstances.
Members will be able to collect up to 100% of the eligible balance in the Provident Fund, which includes employee and employer share.
Withdrawal limits have been liberalised—education withdrawals allowed up to 10 times and marriage up to five times (from the existing limit of a total of three partial withdrawals for marriage and education in all).
The requirement for minimum service has been uniformly reduced to only 12 months for all partial withdrawals.
Under the previous ‘Special Circumstances,’ members were initially required to clarify the reasons for partial withdrawals such as. natural calamity, lockouts/closure of establishments, continuous unemployment, outbreak of epidemic, and so on
This often led to rejection of claims and consequent grievances.