Deposits in 3.1 million inactive PF accounts of the EPFO ​​will be returned, money will be deposited directly into the bank without any application.

An EPFO ​​account is considered inactive if there is no financial activity for three consecutive years. Millions of such accounts have been lying unused for years. Approximately 3.1 million inactive accounts have been identified.

There is good news for millions of account holders associated with the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). The Ministry of Labor has made preparations to return small amounts lying in inactive PF accounts. Importantly, account holders will not have to complete any application or paperwork. The money will be transferred directly to their bank account.

In fact, if there is no financial activity in an EPFO ​​account for three consecutive years, it is considered inactive. Millions of such accounts have been lying unused for years. Approximately 3.1 million such inactive accounts have been identified. A large number of these accounts have not seen any transactions for a long time.

According to the government, there are approximately 600,000 such accounts with deposits of ₹1,000 or less. The funds deposited in these accounts will be transferred directly to the respective bank accounts without any application. According to the report, funds will be transferred immediately to accounts linked to Aadhaar. The remaining accounts will also receive funds in a phased manner.

It should be noted that this process is currently being initiated as a pilot project. In the initial phase, approximately 600,000 accounts have been included. If this system is successful, funds will also be transferred to the remaining approximately 2.5 million inactive accounts under this model.

Approximately ₹10,903 crore is deposited in approximately 31.86 lakh inactive accounts. Additionally, a total of ₹30.52 crore is held in accounts with balances up to ₹1,000.

Many people forget their old PF accounts after changing jobs or avoid the paperwork for small amounts. This government initiative aims to transfer funds that have been stuck for years directly to beneficiaries.

Under this process, account holders will not need to visit an EPFO ​​office or fill out forms. The department will automatically transfer the money to the bank account after verification. This decision by the Labor Ministry will directly benefit approximately 3.1 million account holders. Funds from accounts that have been inactive for years will now be easily transferred to their bank accounts.