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The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) said that because of challenges faced by field officers and difficulty in rectifying/updating Aadhaar details following a member’s death, the processing of physical claims without seeding Aadhaar can be done.
NEW DELHI: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) said that because of challenges faced by field officers and difficulty in rectifying/updating Aadhaar details following a member’s death, the processing of physical claims without seeding Aadhaar can be done.
When an EPFO account holder dies, their family may face the problem of the rejection of their physical claim to withdraw provident fund (PF) due to a lack of rectification or updating of the deceased’s Aadhaar details. It often happens when field offices face challenges in rectifying UID details. However, the family number of such deceased’s can take a sigh of relief now as the EPFO said that the processing of physical claims without seeding Aadhaar may be permissible in cases of deaths.
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“However, this concession is contingent upon obtaining approval from the Officer in Charge (OIC) via an e-office file. The file must meticulously document the verification procedures undertaken to authenticate the deceased’s membership and the legitimacy of the claimants. This protocol is to be executed in conjunction with additional due diligence measures, as directed by the OIC, to mitigate the risk of fraudulent withdrawals,” EPFO said.
These new changes apply to situations where member details are accurate in the UAN but inaccurate in the UID database. EPFO said, “In cases where Aadhaar data is correct but inaccurate or incomplete in the UAN, field offices must meticulously follow the guidelines delineated in Paragraphs 6.9 and 6.10 of JD SOP version-2 dated 26.03.2024. This involves rectifying the data in the UAN, seeding, and validating/authenticating the Aadhaar, in alignment with the instructions outlined in the prior Circular dated 24.09.2020.”
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EPFO also noted that the changes have been brought forth as field offices encountered difficulties with respect to seeding and authentication of Aadhaar in cases involving deceased individuals. Because of this, field officers were unable to process claims promptly and there were delays in paying affected claimants.
What issues field offices faced
In its circular, EPFO said that field offices encountered difficulties, mainly in the seeding and authentication of UIDs of deceased individuals.
1) Deactivated Aadhaar accounts.
2) Technical issues in validating Aadhaar through the UIDAI database.
3) Unavailability of Aadhaar information for cases predating its implementation.
4) Inaccuracies or incompleteness in member details within Aadhaar records.
The EPFO said that in such cases, field officers couldn’t process the physical claims promptly, and it caused delays in paying the affected families.
With physical claims now being processed without UID seeding, the claimants of many of the deceased individuals can avail themselves of the facility.
Approval is required from the Officer In Charge (OIC) via an e-office file.
Temporary allowance for physical claims without UIF seeding in death cases.
Detailed verification is necessary to confirm the deceased’s membership and claimant’s authenticity.
Due diligence actions directed by OIC to prevent fraudulent withdrawals.
