In a significant move aimed at modernising employee benefits, India’s Ministry of Labour & Employment has greenlit a new mechanism that allows Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) subscribers to withdraw up to ₹5 lakh through ATMs and UPI-linked bank accounts.
This upgraded system—part of a larger digital reform at the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)—raises the auto-approval threshold for partial withdrawals from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh. The goal: to provide faster, paperless access to employees during urgent situations like medical expenses, housing needs or education.
The ministry has confirmed that back-end integration is underway, with UAN-linked Aadhaar and bank accounts being synchronised to make PF access nearly instant. Once live, users will be able to access their eligible corpus just like a bank account, bringing “ATM-like convenience” to millions of salaried workers.
Data shows that in FY25 alone, over 2 crore PF advance claims were processed under the auto-settlement route—up by nearly 90% year-on-year. By extending digital ease to core labour benefits, the government hopes to strengthen financial resilience and trust among India’s growing formal workforce.
Source – https://www.bwpeople.in/article/employees-to-access-rs5-lakh-provident-fund-via-atm-upi-561299