EPFO auto refund: 1.18 lakh dormant PF accounts verified; no claim needed for balances up to ₹1,000
More than one lakh Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) subscribers are a step closer to receiving long-unclaimed provident fund balances automatically, with the Labour Ministry identifying and verifying 1.18 lakh dormant accounts under a pilot refund programme, according to a report by The Hindu BusinessLine.
The pilot covers 7.11 lakh inoperative EPFO accounts holding balances of ₹1,000 or less, where a total of ₹30.52 crore has remained unclaimed. According to the report, EPFO has authenticated the account details of 1.18 lakh subscribers and linked them with their active bank accounts, an important milestone before refunds can begin.
Eligible subscribers will not have to submit any application or claim to receive their provident fund dues, including applicable interest. Instead, the refunds will be credited directly to their bank accounts once the required technology platform is in place.
Software changes underway
According to BusinessLine, the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) has been entrusted with upgrading EPFO’s technology platform to enable automatic credit of the pending balances.
The report said the ongoing exercise is part of the EPFO 2.01 reform programme and builds on the Universal Account Number (UAN) framework introduced to give every subscriber a unique identification number. During the verification process, EPFO carried out a “penny drop” exercise for Aadhaar-linked dormant accounts, obtained updated bank account information and identified account holders who are deceased.
While the organisation has extracted the required subscriber data, the software changes needed to process automatic payments are still under development.
A key modification involves creating a “system-generated claim” feature. The current EPFO system processes only claims submitted by members, whereas the proposed mechanism will initiate payments automatically without requiring any action from eligible subscribers.
The report added that around ₹10,903 crore remains unclaimed across 31.86 lakh dormant EPFO accounts accumulated over the past two decades.
Pilot targeted for August-end
The pilot project was approved by Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on 23 February 2026 for dormant EPF accounts with balances of up to ₹1,000.
According to Ministry sources cited by BusinessLine, the technology integration is expected to be completed by the end of August, after which automatic refunds can begin. If the pilot is successful, the Ministry plans to extend the initiative to the remaining 24.76 lakh inoperative EPFO subscribers whose accounts hold balances exceeding ₹1,000.
EPFO, one of the country’s largest social security organisations, has increasingly relied on digital processes to simplify provident fund services, including online claims, UAN-based account portability and faster claim settlements.
