No more PF account closures on job switch, transfer gets automatic

Next month onwards, PF account holders do not have to take the pain of transferring their accounts or closing them when they shift jobs. Money will be automatically transferred on changing jobs, said the chief PF commissioner V P Joy.

Elaborating on the move, Joy said that the main challenge that the PF organization faced was premature closure of accounts and that it was trying to figure out ways to improve services to avoid them. Joy said, "Whenever there is change of job, a lot of accounts are closed; then they (the employees) restart their account later on. Now we have made Aadhaar compulsory for enrolment. We don't want accounts to be closed. The PF account is the permanent account. The worker can retain the same account for social security."

Speaking to the Times of India, he further added, "We are trying to ensure transfer of money if one changes jobs, without any application, in three days. In future, if one has an Aadhaar ID and has verified the ID, then the account will be transferred without any application if the worker goes anywhere in the country. This system will be in place very soon."

It is also said that EPFO has also stepped up ways to expand coverage and the initial results have been positive. Joy said, "During the campaign from January to June, more than one crore workers were enrolled. Now, we are trying to retain them by improving services." Joy also encourages people to withdraw the PF money only for serious purposes like housing, education of children or serious hospitalisation. "...Only then will people get social security. So, we are now starting a campaign...to educate people that money must be withdrawn only for essential purposes," he said. 

• india
• pf