In a significant move to simplify access to retirement savings, Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday announced that Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) accounts will soon be accessible directly through ATMs and debit cards. This initiative aims to eliminate paperwork and speed up fund access during financial emergencies.
Under this plan, subscribers will be able to select their Provident Fund account at ATMs, just like a savings account, and withdraw eligible amounts without having to apply through the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). While no specific rollout date was given, integration with banks is currently in progress.
To enhance this accessibility, the government has raised the automatic partial withdrawal limit from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh. Claims up to this new limit will now be auto-settled within three days, offering members quicker financial relief during emergencies like medical treatment or housing needs.
A senior official explained that a portion of the PF corpus will be earmarked and linked to the user’s bank account, enabling withdrawals via UPI or ATM cards. Although EPFO cannot directly act as a bank, backend integration with financial institutions is underway.
The EPFO, overseeing retirement funds for around 70 million salaried Indians, recently digitized claim processes and removed the requirement for HR attestation, shifting operations online.
Mandaviya noted that India’s social security coverage has surged from 19% in 2015 to 64.3% in 2024, as recognized by the International Labour Organisation.