As mentioned above, this year the EPFO has updated many of its schemes. These include PF-Aadhaar linking, maintenance of two PF accounts for some employees, rise in insurance benefit under EDLI scheme and adding a nominee to the employee’s PF account among others.
Here is a closer look at all the changes that your PF account should be updated with
PF-Aadhaar Linking: From November 30, 2021, the EPFO has made it mandatory to link your PF account’s Universal Account Number (UAN) with Aadhaar. The EPFO had earlier said it will be effective from June this year. There are many consequences you might face if you do not link your UAN with your Aadhaar number. For one, you will stop getting the employer’s contribution if you do not link the accounts. The employees will also face a delay in remittance till the time he or she links the accounts, and the data is approved by the employers and authorities. Additionally, they will not be able to withdraw the PF money from their accounts.
Adding Nominee to PF Account: All members of the EPFO are required to add a nominee to their PF accounts by December 31 this year, the retirement body has announced. If this is not done, the employees will lose out on several benefits. “It is critical for subscribers to register nominations to care for their spouse, children, and parents and to safeguard them through online PF, pension, and insurance," said EPFO in a statement. Filing of nomination is aimed at ensuring benefits for the dependents of the PF account holder in event of a mishap with him or her.
Two PF Accounts for Some Employees: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had earlier in the year announced a new set of rules, according to which if an individual’s EPF contribution goes above Rs 2.5 lakh in a given financial year, they will need to have two separate Provident Fund (PF) accounts. This came into effect from September, where the two accounts are to have taxable and non-taxable contributions separately. This has been put in place in order to ensure the streamlined facilitation of calculations for the taxpayer. These new sets of regulations were bracketed under the Income-tax (25th Amendment) Rules, 2021.
Hike in Insurance Benefits Under EDLI Scheme: The EPFO in a move to help thousands of families of Covid-19 victims during the second wave has come up with a policy to hike insurance benefits. Under this, the retirement body increased the maximum assurance benefit under the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme to Rs 7 lakh from Rs 6 lakh. “Enhanced social security is sought to be provided to the workers without any additional cost to the employer," the labour ministry had said at the time. The minimum threshold however has been left unchanged at Rs 2.5 lakh.
