EPFO Allows Death Claim Settlements Without Seeding Aadhaar, Check Details Inside

The Employees’ Provident Organisation or EPFO has made a major change in the process of making an EPF death claim, enabling members to move forward without seeding Aadhaar. This came in the wake of the recent challenges that were encountered by field offices concerning the seeding and authentication of Aadhaar after a member’s death.

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In a circular issued on May 17, the retirement fund body also mentioned that the concession would be available only after obtaining approval from the Officer in Charge (OIC) via an e-office file.

“The file must meticulously document the verification procedures undertaken to authenticate the deceased’s membership and the legitimacy of the claimants. This protocol is to be executed in conjunction with additional due diligence measures, as directed by the OIC, to mitigate the risk of fraudulent withdrawals,” it said.

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The notice also mentions that the directives are only applicable to situations where member details are accurate in the UAN but inaccurate in the UID database.

Seeding Aadhaar issues

As mentioned in the EPFO circular, the field offices faced several challenges regarding the seeding and authentication of Aadhaar in case of a death. Some of these include inaccuracies and incomplete details in the Aadhaar record, the unavailability of details before Aadhaar implementation, deactivated accounts, and technical issues in validating Aadhaar.

These issues cause an unwanted delay in processing the mentioned claims. To address them, EPFO now allows physical EPF claims without seeding Aadhaar with these conditions:

1. Temporary allowance for physical claims without Aadhaar seeding in case of a death
2. OIC approval is mandatory.
3. Detailed verification is important to confirm the membership of the deceased and the authentication of the claimant.
4. Proper diligence actions as directed by the OIC to prevent fraudulent withdrawals.

What will happen after the death of a member without Aadhaar?

According to the website, in the event of the death of a member without an Aadhaar, the nominee’s Aadhaar details will be saved in the system, and he or she will be allowed to sign the JD form. Other processes will remain the same. If a nomination is absent, one of the member’s family members or legal heirs can attest to the JD and submit their details.