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Union Labour & Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said that EPFO has increased the auto-settlement limit for advance claims from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakhs to facilitate faster fund access for EPFO members, especially in times of urgent needs.
Mandaviya said that this major service enhancement is expected to benefit lakhs of members. EPFO had first introduced auto-settlement of advance claims during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide quick financial assistance to members. Since then, the facility has been extended to cover advanced claims for illness, education, marriage, and housing purposes. "These claims are processed automatically by the system without any human involvement, ensuring quick turnaround and transparency," he added. The Union Minister further added that EPFO in recent times has taken a series of reforms designed to make EPFO services faster, transparent and user-friendly for all its stakeholders including simplification of KYC or member details correction, removal of dependency on employer and EPFO for member profile correction. Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that in FY 2024-25, EPFO processed a record 2.34 crore advance claims through auto-settlement, a 161 per cent increase compared to 89.52 lakh claims in FY 2023-24. Notably, 59 per cent of all advance claims in 2024-25 were settled through the auto mode as compared to 31 per cent in 2023-24. In just the first 2.5 months of FY 2025-26, EPFO has already auto-settled 76.52 lakh claims, constituting 70 per cent of all advance claims settled to date. This growth highlights EPFO's strong focus on automation and delivering faster, more efficient services to its members. "These reforms have not only accelerated the claim settlement process but have also contributed to minimising member grievances, further enhancing ease of living for the member" he added. (ANI)
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