EPFO revamps withdrawal rules, mandates 25% minimum balance

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation’s Central Board of Trustees on October 13 approved a major overhaul of partial withdrawal and settlement rules that will simplify access to funds for more than seven crore subscribers while imposing a permanent 25 percent minimum balance requirement and lengthening the waiting period for full withdrawals. The board, chaired by Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, merged 13 separate withdrawal provisions into three categories, raised withdrawal limits for certain purposes, and introduced automated, document‑free processing for many claims.

Under the new framework, partial withdrawals are consolidated into Essential Needs, Housing Needs, and Special Circumstances. Essential Needs covers illness, education and marriage; education withdrawals may now be made up to 10 times and marriage up to five times, up from a previous combined limit of three. The minimum service period for any partial withdrawal has been standardised at 12 months. The Special Circumstances category no longer requires members to specify reasons such as natural calamity or unemployment, intended to reduce claim rejections.

Although members can access up to 100...