The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has established specific eligibility criteria for nominating family members under provident fund and pension schemes. According to EPFO guidelines, male subscribers can nominate their wife, children (married and unmarried), dependent parents, and widow of son and children. Similarly, female subscribers can nominate their husband, children (married or unmarried), dependent parents, spouse's dependent parents and widow of son and children. The rules require that married subscribers must add their spouse even if they do not wish to nominate their husband/wife under PF, as spouse and children are defined as family for pension fund purposes.
As reported by Mint, unmarried members have specific nomination rights under EPFO regulations. Members who are not married and do not have spouse or children may nominate any other person irrespective of relation for provident fund benefits. Similarly, members with no spouse or children can nominate another person for pension benefits. However, these members must execute separate nominations for both provident fund and pension schemes, as per Para 2(g) of the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 1952, which defines 'family' as spouse, children, dependent parents and spouse's parents.
According to recent EPFO data, fewer than 40% of member families know about all three available death benefits under the EPF scheme. The deceased member's entire PF balance — both employee and employer share — plus interest accrued up to the month of death, is paid to the nominee in a lump sum with no minimum service condition; even one month's PF balance is paid out. The surviving spouse can receive a lifelong widow pension if the deceased completed at least 10 years of pensionable service, plus children pension for up to two children below age 25. Recent case studies show that Form 2 nomination filing can significantly expedite the process, with one family receiving ₹15.4 lakh plus lifelong pension in five weeks compared to cases without proper nominations requiring 6-9 months and ₹20,000 in legal fees.
The EPFO offers an e-nomination facility for Aadhaar-verified UAN holders through online submission of Form No 2. As reported by Mint, the process requires UAN-based login with OTP sent on Aadhaar-linked mobile number. In terms of tax benefits, annual employee contributions up to ₹1.5 lakh are exempt under Section 80C of the old tax regime, while employers' contributions up to 12% (below ₹7.5 lakh) are exempt under both old and new tax regimes. Interest on employees' accumulated contributions is tax-free up to ₹2.5 lakh, while interest on employer's contributions remains tax-free. The EDLI insurance component is fully exempt under Section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act.
