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EPFO: The Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has advised all its members to be cautious about taking EPFO ​​services through unauthorized agents and companies. The reason for this is that the financial data of the members reaches the third party. EPFO ​​said that these agents and companies are not recognized by EPFO. This also poses a threat to the security of the personal data of the members.

The amount being charged for free services

In an official statement issued by EPFO, it was told that many cyber cafe operators/fintech companies are charging huge amounts from EPFO ​​​​members for services that are officially free. In many cases, these operators are only using the online complaint portal of EPFO, which any member can do for free, sitting at home.

Personal information can be stolen.

The statement further said that members are warned against going to or joining third-party companies or agents for EPFO-related services as this may expose their financial data to third-party entities. These external agencies are not authorized by the EPFO ​​and may charge unnecessary fees or compromise the security of members' personal information.

Use EPFO ​​Portal and Umang App
The government agency further said that EPFO ​​​​advises all its members, employers, and pensioners to use the online services available through EPFO ​​​​Portal and UMANG App. All EPFO ​​​​services including claim filing, transfers, KYC updation, and complaint process are completely free and members should not pay any fee to third-party agents or cyber cafes for services that can be easily availed online. Apart from this, members can contact EPFO ​​​​Helpdesk / PRO at the regional offices listed on the official website for any kind of problem.

You can complain here.
Additionally, the statement said that EPFO ​​​​has a robust complaint monitoring and redressal system, in which the complaints of the members are registered on the CPGRAMS or EPFiGMS portal and are monitored till they are resolved promptly. A total of 16,01,202 complaints were received in EPFIGMS and 1,74,328 complaints in CPGRAMS in FY 2024-25. Of these, 98 percent of the complaints were redressed within the time limit.

Advance auto claim settlement facility up to Rs 1 lakh

Recently, EPFO ​​has issued circulars for a Centralized Pension Payment System (CPPS) to improve KYC or member details and simplify the submission of transfer claims, enhance functionality for self-settlement of advance claims up to Rs 1 lakh and simplify the pension disbursement process. The limit of advance auto claim settlement facility for illness, housing, marriage and education has been increased to Rs 1 lakh, resulting in settlement of 2.34 crore claims in auto mode in FY 2024-25. The transfer claim process has also been simplified from 15.01.2025 by removing the need for employer approval in most cases.

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