E-nomination facility for EPF subscribers launched: Norms, procedures, benefits; all you need to know

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is one of the world’s largest social security organisations in terms of clientele and the volume of financial transactions undertaken. Last month, the EPFO had announced the launch of an e-nomination facility and it is available on the EPFO’s member sewa portal, said a media report. Launching of the e-nomination facility is yet another step towards enhancing the digitisation framework aimed at accelerating the settlement of PF and pension claims. The rules set by the government on nominations for EPF accounts and EPS (Employees’ Pension Scheme) account are different. The EPF Act suggests that only family members can be nominated to claim an account holder’s funds. [caption id=“attachment_5161771” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] Aadhaar card must for EPF account nominees According to the new rules released by the EPFO, Aadhaar card number of the nominee is mandatory for e-nomination of one’s provident fund account. The newly established e-nomination function on EPFO which not just requires the subscribes to link their Aadhaar card with the account but also mandates the submission of Aadhaar card number of the nominee. Apart from the Aadhaar card number, scanned images, date of birth and mobile number are some of the important details of the nominee/s which requires to be provided duly. However, the submission of bank details of the nominee remains optional. EPF account holders who have registered their Aadhaar numbers with the EPF and verified on the sewa portal only can use the service. Using the member sewa portal of EPFO, you can check if your EPF account is linked to Aadhaar. To check this, log-in to one’s EPF account and check the ‘KYC’ option under the ‘Manage’ tab. To use the sewa portal, one should also have his or her UAN (Universal Account Number) must be activated on the portal. The account holder has to upload a recent photograph on the portal. Procedure to make nomination online in a PF account The member has to first activate his or her UAN account on UAN member portal. The process of activation has been explained in the User Manual 1) Login to account through https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/ 2) A pop-up will appear if the nomination is not registered. Alternatively, you can make the nomination through the ’e-nomination’ option under the ‘Manage’ tab. 3) A new webpage will come up. While making e-nomination, one has to make certain declarations. On the new webpage, the portal will ask you, ‘Having Family?’. You have to answer ‘Yes or No’ using the radio button. 4) If you have selected ‘Yes’, then you will be required to enter details of the family member whom you want to nominate. You will be required to provide the following details of the person whom you are nominating: a) Aadhaar b) Name c) Date of birth d) Gender e) Relation f) Address g) Bank account details (Optional) h) Guardian i) Photo (Photograph size should not exceed 100 KB) You can add details of more than one family member if you want to make more than one nominee by clicking on ‘Add row’ option. If you have selected ‘No’, then along with the above-mentioned details, you will be asked the total amount of share you wish to give to the person you are nominating. 5) Click on ‘Save Family Details’. 6) Select the family member you wish to nominate in your EPF account and percentage of share you wish to give to them. If you are making more than one nomination in your EPF account, then make sure the total percentage of share of the nominees adds up to 100 percent. 7) Click on ‘Save EPF Nomination’. EPF nomination details will be saved successfully. Similarly, you will be required to make EPS (Employees’ Pension Scheme) nomination as well. Benefits The objective of e-nomination is to ensure a member to take the ownership of his EPF account and to keep it updated on a real-time basis, said a report in Financial Express. It will also help in actuarial valuation of the pension fund, reduce bureaucracy, corruption and help in the faster digitisation of important records, ultimately enhancing employee experience and the ease of doing business, the report said.