Those changing jobs should pay attention immediately: otherwise your old EPFO ​​fund will become useless.

A very shocking and important news has come to light regarding the Employees Provident Fund i.e. EPF scheme, which protects the future of crores of employees across the country. The Central Government has informed the Parliament that till March 31, 2026, a huge amount of Rs 9,330.56 crore is stuck in different inoperative EPF accounts of the country. This simply means that lakhs of employees of the country have not yet made any claim on their hard-earned money.

These sensational figures were shared by Rajya Sabha MP R. Minister of State for Labor and Employment Shobha Karandlaje shared in response to a written question asked by Girirajan. The Minister said that Employees Provident Fund Organization i.e. EPFO ​​is running a special campaign these days to make the employees and employers of the country aware about these forgotten and inactive accounts.

After all, what is called inoperative EPF account?

According to the rules and regulations of EPFO, if no new contribution is made in that EPF account for three consecutive years after an employee leaves the job, settles abroad or unfortunately dies, then that account is put in the ‘inactive’ category. However, it is a matter of relief that under the current rules, interest continues to be earned on such accounts till the employee turns 58 years of age.

EPFO has divided all such accounts mainly into two parts. The first category includes those old accounts which do not have any Universal Account Number (UAN) link, while the second category includes those accounts with which UAN is linked but transactions in them have been stopped for a long time.

If your account has also been closed or deactivated, then do this immediately

If you are still working in a company or organization where EPF rules are applicable, then you can easily transfer the entire amount deposited in your old inactive account to your new EPF account through online or offline means. On the other hand, if you have retired from the job, then you can officially submit a claim to withdraw the entire amount lying in your account as per the rules laid down by EPFO.

Financial experts have always believed that employees should keep their UAN active from time to time. Apart from this, whenever you change your job, you should transfer the entire money by linking your old EPF account to the new account without any delay, so that the account does not become inactive in future.

EPFO is running a special awareness campaign

The Minister of State for Labor also told the House that EPFO ​​is making employees and companies aware about all the services of EPF and these inactive accounts through social media platforms as well as through camps like ‘Nidhi Aapke Nicht (NAN) 2.0’ organized across the country. The main objective of this entire exercise is to ensure that the hard-earned money of the working people of the country does not remain unclaimed for years.

The government also made a big thing clear regarding EPS pension.

Meanwhile, the government has also made the situation completely clear regarding the Employees Pension Scheme i.e. EPS. The Minister informed that the pension fund of EPS is a completely pooled fund, in which the contributions of the companies i.e. employers and the Central Government itself are deposited. Whenever an employee or his family becomes eligible for pension as per the rules, payment is made from this fund.

It has also been made clear by the government that there is no deadline for claiming pension or availing the withdrawal benefit under EPS. Whenever an eligible member makes a claim for it and his application is approved, the entire amount is paid to him in lump sum by the government after adding all the previous arrears.

Therefore, if you have ever changed job in your life, you are now retired or any of your old PF accounts has not been used for a long time, then check your status immediately. It is possible that a large portion of your hard-earned money is also waiting for you in these inactive accounts!