Using this online helpdesk, the holders of the inoperative accounts can trace out their accounts and go in for either settlement or transfer of PF to their present accounts, an official said.
The inoperative accounts are those accounts wherein the contribution has not been received for 36 months. EPFO had stopped payment of interest to such accounts from April 1, 2011.
The decision to set up helpdesk follows instruction given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the 'Shrameva Jayate' programme regarding the settlement of inoperative accounts having Rs 27,000 crores as balance.
This online helpdesk can be accessed through EPFO's website. The member shall be prompted to provide the known details of his/her employment in a specially designed proforma including establishment code, PF account number, address, state, city, date of joining etc.
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Likewise, personal information is also to be provided like name, mobile number, Date of Birth, Name of Father / Husband, e-mail Id, contact address, Aadhar number, Bank A/c No. Etc.
Based on the reference ID generated, the field office concerned (where the member held his PF account) shall contact the member and guide him for getting the settlement or effecting the PF transfer as the case may be.
EPFO expects that introduction of the portable Universal Account Number for PF is expected to greatly facilitate the above initiative as UAN would enable consolidation of multiple previous PF account numbers with the present one.
In addition to this, the recent e-governance initiative of EPFO such as Online Transfer Claim portal (OTCP), the introduction of batch processing software for updating the annual accounts of the subscribers have helped the body to zero-in on the Inoperative Accounts and take necessary corrective action.
EPFO is also making efforts to ascertain the present status of the beneficiaries including the current address, current employment, whether the member is a UAN allottee, the bank account details and Aadhar details of the member.