EPFO is going to take a big step. If you have an old PF account which is lying ‘inactive’, now you will not have to go through the hassle of making repeated rounds to withdraw your money. EPFO is launching an ‘Automated Settlement System’. Under this system, unclaimed amount of approximately ₹5,200 crore will be transferred directly to your Aadhaar linked bank account. In simple words, EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organization) is making a complete plan to settle the unclaimed amount deposited in its inactive accounts. Citing reports, IANS has reported that EPFO is preparing to launch an ‘Automated Settlement System’, under which the PF amount will be transferred directly to the member’s Aadhaar linked bank account.
Get your money without filing a claim
The most special thing about this new system is that employees will not need to fill any separate claim form to withdraw their money. In the first phase, about 25% of inactive accounts—especially those verified with Aadhaar—are expected to be processed. In terms of the total amount, the initiative will cover around 800,000 Aadhaar-verified accounts with aggregate deposits of around ₹5,200 crore. Talking about the total number of accounts, data till February 2026 shows that EPFO currently has around 3.1 million inactive accounts with total deposits of ₹10,181 crore.
14,000 accounts will get more than ₹5 lakh
There are around 14,000 such accounts with deposits of more than ₹5 lakh, while 38,000 other accounts have balances between ₹1 lakh and ₹5 lakh. Earlier, the ‘Central Board of Trustees’ had already approved auto-settlement of inactive accounts having balance up to ₹1,000.
When does PF account become inactive?
Generally, when an employee retires at the age of 55 and does not make any contribution for three consecutive years, his account is considered ‘inactive’, and interest stops earning on it. However, in case of members below 55 years of age, interest continues to accumulate until they reach 58 years of age.
8.25% interest on PF deposits
EPFO has fixed the interest rate on PF deposits at 8.25% for the year 2025-26. However, please note that if an account remains inactive for 36 months, it is placed in the ‘dormant’ category, and no further interest is credited on it thereafter.
