EPFO Board okays redemption policy for ETFs to boost earnings for members

New Delhi : The meeting of the EPFO Central Board of Trustees, chaired by Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, on Saturday approved a Redemption Policy for exchange-traded fund (ETF) investments in CPSE and Bharat 22 to generate higher income for the EPF Scheme's 'Interest Account'.

The policy mandates a minimum five-year holding, returns exceeding government securities, and performance above the CPSE and Bharat 22 indices, according to an official statement issued after the meeting.

The CBT also approved the guidelines for investment in Units issued by Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) sponsored Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs)/ Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India and falling under Category V(b) and V(d) of the pattern of investment.

The decisions are aimed at a prudent investment of corpus to ensure enhanced returns for 70 million EPFO subscribers.

In another decision at the meeting, the CBT approved a significant amendment to paragraph 60(2)(b) of the EPF Scheme, 1952. As per existing provisions, for the claim settled till the 24th of the month, interest is paid only up to the end of the preceding month. Now, the interest will be paid to the member up to the date of settlement. This will result in financial benefit to the members and reduce the grievances.

Till now, interest-bearing claims are not processed between the 25th and the end of each month to avoid loss of interest to the members. After this decision, these claims will be processed for the entire month leading to reduced pendency, timely settlement, and optimised utilisation of resources. It reflects the EPFO’s commitment to efficient, transparent, and member-focused service delivery.

The CBT was also informed at the meeting that EPFO has accelerated the pace of its work with 3.83 crore claims for more than Rs.1.57 lakh crore already being settled in the current financial year. During the Financial Year 2023-24, EPFO settled 4.45 crore claims for an amount of Rs.1.82 lakh crore.

EPFO is upgrading both IT hardware and software with the implementation of the CITES 2.01 project. Under project 2.01, a newer version of the operating system is being deployed which will result in the simplification of the claim settlement process. A newer software module will enable UAN-based accounting resulting in one member, one account system thereby reducing hassles for members in claim settlement.

The Board was informed about major initiatives taken by the EPFO since the last meeting of the CBT. It was informed that the limit for auto claims settlement facility has also been extended to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 which has also been extended to advances for housing, marriage and education. In this Financial Year, 1.15 crore claims have been settled in auto mode. The Board appreciated the fact that the rejection ratio has come down to 14 per cent in November 2024.

CBT was also apprised that the first pilot of the Centralised Pension Payment System (CPPS) was successfully completed in October 2024 in Karnal, Jammu, and Srinagar. The second pilot was taken up in November 2024 in 20 additional Regional Offices in which Rs195 crore have already been disbursed for 8.3 lakh pensioners.

Minister of State for Labour Shobha Karandlaje, Secretary, Labour & Employment and CBT Co-Vice-Chairperson Sumita Dawra, Central Provident Fund Commissioner and Member Secretary Ramesh Krishnamurthi were also present at the meeting.