EPFO News: Refund will be given without application, balance up to Rs 1000 will be transferred! Know who is eligible?

By Samira Vishwas On Feb 25, 2026

EPFO Inoperative Account Refund: In a move that can benefit lakhs of people, the Labor Ministry has decided to refund small balances lying in non-operative accounts linked to the Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). According to some reports, the purpose of this move is to return the money that has been unused for years.

This decision is applicable to those non-operative accounts which have Rs 1,000 or less. In such cases, the money will be refunded without any paperwork. Account holders will not need to submit any application or visit any office. EPFO will transfer the money directly to the concerned bank account.

31 lakh accounts were identified

Currently, there are around 31 lakh non-operative EPFO accounts. Of these, about six lakh accounts have deposits of Rs 1,000 or less. The transfer will be done immediately in the accounts which are linked to Aadhaar. For others, the money will be sent in phases.

Pilot project for now

Right now it is being started as a pilot project. If it works well, the same method can be applied to the remaining 25 lakh non-operative accounts also. If there is no transaction or activity for three consecutive years, EPFO The account is considered inoperative.

The move is being seen as a step towards providing direct relief to account holders as it aims to simplify settlements, reduce paperwork and help workers access their unused savings faster.

PF withdrawal from UPI

Apart from this, retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is about to launch a new facility, through which subscribers will be able to withdraw some part of their provident fund money in real time using the UPI method, according to recent reports.

EPFO subscribers will be able to withdraw their PF money through UPI, which will then be directly transferred to their bank account, making the process easy and hassle-free and ending the decades-long wait for your provident fund money to come into your account.

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