EPFO Launches WhatsApp Services and Auto-Settlement for Inoperative Accounts Up to ₹1,000

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) launched interactive WhatsApp-based services for subscribers and an automatic settlement facility for eligible inoperative accounts with balances up to ₹1,000 on Sunday. These initiatives were rolled out during an event marking EPFO’s 74th Foundation Day at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.

The new WhatsApp service will enable subscribers to check their PF balance, view their latest five transactions, and access passbook information. It will also offer personalized guidance and assistance in fulfilling requirements related to the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY), as stated by the labour ministry. This interactive platform aims to make routine account-related information easily accessible, thereby reducing the need for physical visits to EPFO offices and expanding EPFO’s digital service delivery beyond its existing online platforms.

Concurrently, EPFO introduced an automatic settlement facility for Aadhaar-verified inoperative accounts holding balances of up to ₹1,000, subject to prescribed identity and bank-account verification. This means eligible subscribers will no longer need to file individual claims to receive their dues. Approximately 1 lakh accounts, involving about ₹5 crore, are expected to benefit from this new facility. This automatic settlement follows the approval of a pilot project by the EPFO Central Board of Trustees at its 239th meeting in March this year, which initially targeted around 133,000 inoperative accounts totaling nearly ₹5.68 crore. The pilot aimed to directly transfer amounts to members’ Aadhaar-seeded and EPFO-linked bank accounts without requiring fresh claims or documentation. Under EPF provisions, an account is classified as inoperative if no contribution is received for a continuous period of three years after a member attains 55 years of age or from the date of retirement, whichever is later.

The ministry also highlighted significant improvements in EPFO’s claim settlement process, noting that the average claim settlement time fell to 2.57 days in October 2026, a result of the introduction of the Centralised IT-Enabled System (CITES 2.01). EPFO currently serves around 80 million contributory members and 8.5 million pensioners, managing a retirement corpus of nearly ₹32 trillion.

During the event, Central Provident Fund Commissioner Ramesh Krishnamurthi announced the disbursement of the fourth tranche of incentives under PMVBRY. Ministry data indicates that 286,290 employees received the first installment of incentives worth ₹163.39 crore, while 144,831 employees received the second installment totaling ₹96.01 crore. Additionally, ₹702.39 crore was disbursed to 83,242 employers under the scheme. Launched in August 2025 with an outlay of ₹99,446 crore, the PMVBRY aims to support 35 million jobs over two years, including 19.2 million first-time formal-sector entrants. Under the scheme, first-time employees earning up to ₹1 lakh a month are eligible for an incentive of up to ₹15,000, paid in two installments. Employers hiring additional workers over their existing workforce baseline receive monthly incentives of ₹1,000-3,000 per eligible employee for two years, with manufacturing establishments eligible for an additional two years of support. Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya urged EPFO officials and employees to continuously innovate and update operations. Multiple publications were also released on Foundation Day, including “EPFO State Profile 2026” and “The Indian Journal of Social Security.”

What to watch: The impact of these digital initiatives on user engagement and the continued progress of the PMVBRY scheme.

Editor's note: The draft comprehensively covers the launch of WhatsApp services, the auto-settlement of inoperative accounts, and the PMVBRY incentive details provided in the source.