EPFO MAKES AADHAAR MANDATORY

IMPORTANT EPFO  NEWS TILL DATE  (17/04/2017)                        30/04/2017

    EPFO has made it mandatory for its subscribers to provide either Aadhaar or a proof that they have applied for it  to remain the beneficiary of its social security schemes.

    A notification by the Labour ministry says, "Members and pensioners of the Employees Pension Scheme desirous of continuing to avail pension and membership to Employees Pension Scheme, are here by required to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication as per the procedure laid down by EPFO."

    The government has decided to take strong action like terminating all these financial services in case an individual is not having his / her Aadhaar card with him/her. The dead line for submission of Aadhaar expires as on 30/04/2017.

EPFO INTEREST RATE FOR THE YEAR 2016-17

LATEST EPFO NEW                                                                           29/04/2017

EPFO has fixed the annual interest rate on the PF contributions at 8.65% for the year 2016-17.

EPFO TO LAUNCH HOUSING SCHEME

IMPORTANT EPFO  NEWS TILL DATE  (24/02/2017)                       28/04/2017              

   The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has formulated a housing scheme for its members. Under the scheme it is envisaged that there should be 20 members, at least, in the group housing society to avail the facility. Under the scheme the members  would be allowed to club the benefits under various schemes of the Centre as well as state's like Pradhan Mantri Awas  Yojana under the EPFO initiative.  

EPFO's VOLUNTARY PENSION SCHEME PROPOSAL

IMPORTANT EPFO  NEWS TILL DATE (02/09/2016)                    28/04/2017

    Central Provident Fund Commissioner  has forwarded a proposal of a voluntary pension scheme to the Government, which is actively being considered. This shall be in addition to the EPS scheme which is currently in force.The contribution to this scheme shall be upto the age of 60 unlike under the EPS where it is done upto the age of 58 years.

   The employer may also contribute their share, for the benefit of the employee. The proposal is also being considered for extending the Income Tax exemption towards contribution under this scheme. Latest update on this proposal is still awaited.

90% HOME LOAN WITHDRAWAL FROM PF

NEWS UPDATE                                                              25/04/2017

PF members can make  withdrawal up to  90% of  their saving  from  their  PF account  to buy a site, construction  of a dwelling house or flat or as a member of a house building or cooperative society having at least 10 members. They can also make arrangement  to make payment on  EMI basis for such purchases. 

UAN TO BE LINKED TO EMPLOYER

              
  IMPORTANT NEW UPDATE                                                          24/04/2017
  

    EPFO to receive member's  PF contributions only if UAN is linked to current employer.This will  make the member's fund transfers and withdrawals straight forward and easy.The other important benefit to the member is that if any new employee joins a Company, when ever the Company is sending the PF contribution  to the PF office, UAN  should be already generated for the new employee.The same will apply to an existing employee also.
    

      Keeping this rule in mind,all PF members must make sure that they know their UAN and upoad their KYC details which must be endorsed by the employer. In addition  they must  ensure that their UAN is linked to the  Employer to  make  sure that they  will not  be  forced  to  face any PF related irregularities or errors at a much later date which will lead to difficulties in withdrawal or settlement of the PF contribution.

MOBILE PHONE BASED SERVICES

IMPORTANT NEWS UPDATE TILL DATE                                           24/04/2017

EPFO has launched three mobile phone based applications to enable the members to avail the various services provided by them. This will largely benefit those who do not have access to a computer and internet connection.

The three services are:

1. Mobile App.

 

2. SMS based UAN activation. and subsequently avail the various mobile based services.

3. Missed called services.

Mobile App

   The member has to download the App from the EPFO website www.epfindia.gov.in. This App is presently suitable for use on mobile phones  working on Android. Once installed and activated this App can be used to access their accounts for viewing their monthly credits through the passbook as well view their details available with EPFO. EPS pensioners can access their pension disbursement details through this mobile app.

SMS based UAN Activation

This facility can be used on simple feature phones as well as smart phones. To activate the PF account the following process should be followed:

i) SMS must be sent to 7738299899.

ii) Message format should be SMS - "EPFOHO UAN ENG" -the message within the quotes. In case we prefer the response to be any other language, ENG should be substituted with the frist three characters of the language name like KAN, HIN, TAM, GUJ etc.

Missed Call Service

Missed call should be made to 01122901406 to avail all the above mentioned services.

EMPLOYEES' DEPOSIT LINKED INSURANCE SCHEME (EDLIS)

                                                                                               18/04/2017

      Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) of 1995 offers pension on disablement, widow pension, and pension for nominees. Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLIS) provides for a lump sum payment to the insured's nominated beneficiary in the event of death due to natural causes, illness or accident, while on the job. In brief the scheme details are as follows:

    This scheme covers all employees who are members of the EPF. Under this scheme the employee is provided a life insurance cover. In case of  death of the member, his family shall be eligible to receive the compensation. The only condition for eligibility for claiming compensation is that the member should be actively employed when his death occurs irrespective of the time,day,place,age  or circumstance under which the death occurs. There is no minimum service limit, to be eligible for making a claim under this scheme. Contribution towards this scheme is done by  the employer which is 0.5 % of the employee's salary.

CLAIM AMOUNT

   The claim amount is linked to the employee's salary(Basic+DA) which is capped at Rs 15,000/- per month. The claim amount of the EDLI is decided by the last drawn salary of the employee. The claim amount is 30 times the salary. Along with this, a bonus of Rs 1.5 lakh is also paid.Thus the maximum EDLI claim amount would be Rs 6 lakh (30 x15,000 + 1,50,000), maximum.

EPFO NEWS                                                                                      11/04/2017

     EPFO is developing a claim settlement process by receiving application online. The application will be integrated with UMANG       ( Unified Mobile App for New-age Governance.)

     UMANG is  a master  mobile based app which will help people access e-Gov services from the Centre, State and even from the local bodies and their agencies.Whether one wants to file their income tax or apply for a passport or pay various utility bills like electricity and water bills. This is part of PM Modi's Digital India program.
     The government is planning to integrate over 200 services offered by different Central, State Government and local bodies. Some of services to be included are Commercial tax/GST, Income tax, Passport Seva, Women Safety (Nirbhaya),  E-Post,National scholarship, Healthcare applications,  CBSE/State education boards, E-Municipality, IRCTC, Utility bills, Mother and child tracking, Public distribution system, Transport – Vahan/Sarathi, e-Court, m-Kisan, Land records, PF/NPS. 

     These services shall be available in 13 languages, which can be availed using smart phones. Those using feature phones can access these services through SMS.