Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale Wednesday, in an X post, had described the EPF withdrawal changes as “theft of salaried people’s money” while terming the decisions as “shocking and ridiculous”.
In the wake of ongoing debates and confusion over EPF withdrawal, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday clarified that up to 75 per cent of Provident Fund amount can be immediately withdrawn in case of job loss. He also stated that the remaining 25 per cent, which has now been categorised as mandatory minimum balance, can also be withdrawn after completion of one year since the job loss.
On Monday, the government had announced several changes with regard to the Employee Provident Fund (EPF). In a meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), EPF, chaired by Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, it was decided to “simplify and liberalise partial withdrawals to enhance member convenience and retirement security”.
However, the decisions led to a backlash, with some Opposition politicians and financial journalists as well as members of the online community criticising the changes. Some of the decisions were described as ‘anti-members’, as those delayed access to PF funds in case of unemployment.
The key decisions announced via a statement on October 13 suggested the following key decisions:
– 13 complex provisions to be merged into a single, streamlined rule categorised into three types namely, Essential Needs (illness, education, marriage), Housing Needs and Special Circumstances, for partial withdrawals of EPF balance.
– Withdrawal limits to be liberalised: education withdrawals allowed up to 10 times and marriage up to 5 times, from the existing limit of total of 3 partial withdrawals for marriage and education in all.
– Requirement of minimum service reduced to 12 months for all partial withdrawals.
– 25 per cent of the contributions in the members’ account to be earmarked as minimum balance to be maintained by the member at all times.
– 100% auto settlement of claims for partial withdrawal.
– The period for availing premature final settlement of EPF to be increased from the existing 2 months to 12 months and final pension withdrawal from 2 months to 36 months.
The last two changes suggested by the Government triggered a huge controversy online, with social media users, including politicians and journalists, describing the move as not being people-friendly.
Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale Wednesday, in an X post, described the move as “theft of salaried people’s money” while terming the decisions as “shocking and ridiculous”.
“Earlier, on losing your job, you could withdraw your EPF balance after 2 months of employment. That minimum period has now SHOCKINGLY been increased to 1 YEAR. Basically, for withdrawing your OWN money, you need to now be unemployed for a FULL YEAR as opposed to only 2 months.
“You can withdraw the pension component of your EPF ONLY after 36 months (i.e. 3 YEARS) of unemployment. Earlier, you could do it after 2 months. And this is the worst part: Of your EPF balance, 25 per cent cannot be withdrawn and will remain LOCKED IN for your entire career until you retire.”
The Union government took note of the ongoing debate and confusion around the changes introduced in the EPF scheme and sought to clarify the decisions.
Union Minister Mandaviya said that any EPF member can withdraw up to 75 per cent of his Provident Fund balance immediately after job loss while the remaining 25 per cent can be withdrawn after completion of one year. The 25 per cent is being held back in the EPF account for one year to maintain job continuity in case the member manages to find a job within a year of the job loss.
The minister added that EPF beneficiaries earlier faced 13 types of withdrawal conditions, including waiting five years for marriage-related withdrawals, seven years for housing, and three years for medical purposes, along with multiple forms and complex procedures. However, this too has now been simplified.
The Press Information Bureau also posted a fact-check on TMC MP Gokhale’s X post, stating: “Full withdrawal of the entire PF balance (including the minimum balance of 25 per cent) is allowed under a few conditions, like retirement after attaining 55 years of service, permanent disability, retrenchment, voluntary retirement, or leaving India permanently, etc. Simplified provisions allow full withdrawal of the entire PF balance (including the minimum balance of 25 per cent) after 12 months of continuous unemployment.”