In a move that will make things convenient for retired professionals, the retirement fund body, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), has allowed full and final withdrawal of funds by the subscribers from their pension account, without providing their Aadhaar number.
A senior official shared that all those members filing claims for withdrawal of funds from their pension account would now not be required to submit Aadhaar as mandated in an earlier order of the EPFO. To withdraw the amount accumulated in their pension account, members with less than 10 years of service, can submit a full and final settlement claim through Form 10C.
However, the members submitting claims for fixing their pensions using Form 10D would be required to submit Aadhaar number or enrolment slips.
The official also shared that the requirement of submitting Aadhaar number under Form 10C claims led to issues in settlement of withdrawal cases. Thus, it is decided that obtaining Aadhaar should be mandatory for the time being only for pension (fixation under 10D Form) and not for withdrawal cases (under Form 10C).
In early January, EPFO had made it mandatory for pensioners as well as subscribers to submit Aadhaar numbers to continue the benefits under its various social security schemes.
In late January, though, EPFO had also made it mandatory for members to furnish Aadhaar number while submitting claims for settlement of their pension accounts under the Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995. And earlier this month, the EPFO extended the deadline for submitting the Aadhaar number by its members as well as pensioners, till March 31, 2017.