Jan. 3: The retirement fund manager Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) would soon replace provident fund account number with unique identification number for better management efficiencies. This move will allow the organisation to transfer of a subscriber’s funds in case of a job change and allow them to track their accounts online.
Given the lack of digitisation at EPFO offices, it takes severals months for a subscriber to get his provident fund money transferred from his old employer to the new. This forces a large number of subscribers to withdraw the entire money in their account and go for a fresh account with the new employer.
The ongoing digitisation project and the replacement of PF account number with UID would speed up the inter-organisational transfer of PF money and could stop the subscribers from seeking a premature withdrawal.
“We are in the process of digitising and inter-connecting all our offices. We are planning to use unique identification number as the subscribers account number after that,” teh labour secretary, Mr P.C. Chaturvedi, said. According to him, the process could be completed by March 2012.
He said: “Besides expediting the transfer of funds from one office to another, it would help reducing the number of withdrawals. Apart from this, subscribers could also track his account online.” EPFO plans to digitalise the entire data in its regional and sub-offices by March this year in the first phase. In the second phase, all offices would be inter-connected. The digitalisation and the use of UID as the PF account number would facilitate the subscribers to apply for transfer and withdrawal online.