The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is a retirement savings scheme where both employee and employer contribute monthly portions of salary. According to EPFO guidelines, subscribers are advised to register a nominee in their EPF account to ensure smooth transfer of savings to eligible family members upon death. The accumulated corpus, along with applicable benefits, is paid to the employee upon retirement or to eligible beneficiaries in certain circumstances. For FY26, the Centre ratified the EPFO's suggestion of 8.25% interest rate for both EPF and VPF, marking the third consecutive time the instrument delivered 8.25% returns on provident fund.
If an EPFO member dies without registering a nominee, the accumulated EPF balance and insurance benefits do not lapse, but the claim process becomes significantly more complex. As reported by EPFO rules, when no nominee has been appointed, all eligible family members are entitled to an equal share of the EPF benefits. If there are no eligible family members or legal heirs, the PF corpus is released to the person who is legally entitled to receive it. While claims with complete documentation are generally processed within seven days, the absence of a nominee can delay the settlement process substantially.
Under EPFO rules, the definition of eligible family members differs for male and female subscribers. For male members, the eligible family includes the wife, children (married or unmarried), parents, and son's widow and children. For female members, the eligible family includes the husband, husband's parents, children (married or unmarried), parents, and son's widow and children. EPFO has cautioned that an account becomes inoperative if it remains unclaimed for three years, advising families and legal heirs to submit claims promptly to avoid unnecessary delays.
To claim EPF after a member's death, families must complete the process through the official EPFO portal at unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/no-auth/nomineeAppForm. The required documents include the deceased member's 12-digit UAN, beneficiary's Aadhaar, name, date of birth, and death certificate (PDF, max 2MB). The portal offers three claim options: PF withdrawal (Form 20), pension claim (Form 10D), and insurance claim (Form 5IF). Families must enter bank details and upload cancelled cheques for each claim, with submission requiring OTP validation to the beneficiary's Aadhaar-linked mobile number.
EPF and VPF contributions offer significant tax benefits with annual employee contributions up to ₹1.5 lakh exempt under Section 80C of the old tax regime. Employer contributions of up to 12% (below ₹7.5 lakh) are exempt under both old and new tax regimes. Interest on employees' accumulated contribution is tax-free up to ₹2.5 lakh, while interest on employer's contribution is tax-free. Members can access a maximum of 75% of their corpus during partial withdrawal, with requirement to maintain 25% minimum balance.
