Inactive EPF account: Know how to reactivate it and claim the money

Kolkata: Inoperative EPF (Employees' Provident Fund) accounts are not rare. Salaried individuals often leave inoperative accounts. According to EPFO (Employees' Provident Fund Organisation) report to Parliament, a pile of money, not less than Rs 8,505.23 crore, stood accumulated in inoperative accounts. The amount was Rs 1,638.37 crore in FY19. Inoperative accounts also jumped from 6.91 lakh to 21.55 lakh between the time window mentioned above.

Significantly, employees often forget about EPF accounts related to a job they were involved earlier and have moved on to a new company. Consequently, contributions stop in those accounts and they turn inoperative. Or, one might die and the account becomes inoperative or start a new venture without claiming the money in the EPF account.

The UAN or universal account number is extremely important in matters of EPF. The UAN is of central significance in EPF transactions. It is a 12-digit unique number assigned to every employee in the EPFO rolls. The UAN serves as an umbrella and allows employees to view all their EPF details linked to different member IDs under one central account.

The first step of processing an EPF account is that it has to be linked to the UAN assigned to an employee. Once the UAN is generated, it is obvious that the EPF account becomes KYC compliant. If the UAN is yet to be created, one can get it generated by visiting the concerned field office and submitting an application. If the applicant is indisposed due to old age and cannot move, one can apply for online verification and usually EPFO can dispatch a representative to the residence, if needed. Once the KYC is done and UAN linkage is over, the employer has to link the KYC details. After this step is done, an individual can apply to unblock the account and claim the funds there.

Those inactive for less than three years: If an EPF account is inoperative for less than three years, but has links to an UAN, the employee can send online request to unblock the account. If and when the application is entertained, the individual can proceed with the claim of get the funds locked in the account.

Inactive for more than three years: In this case the EPFO member has to submit a physical request with the concerned officer at the field office as well as file an online application to make the account operative. Only after the application is entertained, can one initiate with the process to claim the money.

Accounts of expired EPFO member: If the employee has expired and the account is inoperative, the nominees have to file a refund claim. The EPFO is required to generate a UAN and conduct a KYC. EPFO will also obtain biometric details of the nominee before processing refund claims.