Soon, you will no longer have to worry about the transfer of your employees in connection with the merger. Provident Fund (EPF) account when you are changing jobs. that’s because Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has approved the development of a centralized IT-enabled system by C-DAC. This centralized system will facilitate de-duplication and merger of all PF accounts of the members. This will remove the need for transfer of EPF account whenever a member changes jobs.

The decision was approved in the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) meeting held on November 20, 2021.

At present, according to EPF RulesOnce a member changes his job, a new EPF account is opened with the new company. The employee is required to transfer the money held in the EPF account with the previous employer to his new employer. This can be done online on the Member Services Portal, provided the Universal Account Number (UAN) is linked to Aadhaar. if UAN not connected to Aadhaar, then the employee has to do it offline by submitting a form to the new employer.

It is important to transfer one’s EPF account from the previous employer to the new one to ensure that the continuous service period is captured accurately for the purpose of computing pension for Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) and for income tax purposes. .

According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Labor and Employment on November 20, “The approval for development of a centralized IT-enabled system was accorded by C-DAC. Thereafter, the sectoral activities would move to a central database in a phased manner, Thereby, smooth operations and better service delivery will be possible. The centralized system will facilitate de-duplication and merger of all PF accounts of any member. This will remove the need for account transfer on change of job.”

Some other important decisions were taken by the CBT in its meeting held on November 20. This includes the decision to empower the Finance Investment and Audit Committee (FIAC) to decide on investment options on a case-by-case basis for investments. In all such asset classes which are included in the pattern of investment notified by the Government of India. This would mean that EPFO ​​funds would be allowed to invest in Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).

“The board has approved investment in AIF. However, this will be on a case by case basis and we will focus only on government-backed options which are category one funds like public sector InvITs,” Labor and Employment Secretary Sunil Barthwal said after the 229th CBT meeting on Saturday.