In 2025, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) brought major updates to its system to make things easier for crores of salaried employees. From transferring your Provident Fund (PF) during job change to getting your pension in any bank, these changes make the entire experience more digital, fast, and transparent.
Here’s a simple explanation of the 5 big changes EPFO made this year:
1. Profile Update Made Simple With Aadhaar
If your UAN (Universal Account Number) is linked to Aadhaar, you can now update your EPFO profile easily without needing extra documents. You can change your name, date of birth, gender, marital status, parents’ details, nationality, and joining date online.
- No paperwork required for Aadhaar-linked UANs.
- If UAN is before 1st October 2017, employer approval might still be needed for some updates.
This step is taken to avoid long delays and to help employees maintain correct records.
2. PF Transfer Without Employer Approval
Earlier, when you changed your job, you had to wait for both your old and new employers to approve your PF transfer. But from 15th January 2025, EPFO has removed this hassle.
Now, PF transfer can be done without employer approval if:
- Your Aadhaar is linked with both old and new UANs.
- Personal details (name, DOB, gender) match exactly.
- Both UANs are verified and active.
This will benefit lakhs of employees who often faced delays due to pending approvals.
3. Joint Declaration Process Simplified
If you had to correct any information in your EPF account earlier, you needed a Joint Declaration form signed by the employer. In 2025, this has been simplified with a new category-wise system issued on 16th January.
Here’s how it works:
- Category 1: If your UAN is Aadhaar verified, you can submit correction requests online.
- Category 2: If your UAN is old but Aadhaar verified, you can still submit online requests.
- Category 3: If UAN is not Aadhaar verified or member is deceased, only physical form submission is allowed.
This categorisation makes the correction process much easier and faster.
4. Centralised Pension Payment System (CPPS)
From 1st January 2025, EPFO launched a new pension payment system called the Centralised Pension Payment System (CPPS). Under this system:
- Pension can be credited to any bank in India through the NPCI platform.
- No need to shift your PPO (Pension Payment Order) from one EPFO office to another.
- Digital Life Certificate (Jeevan Pramaan) becomes mandatory.
- If the pension claim is sent to the wrong office, it will be auto-forwarded to the right one.
This new system improves the pension process by removing location-based limits and making it faster.
5. Clear Rules for Higher Pension Requests
In 2025, EPFO also released clear rules regarding pension based on higher salary contributions. Here’s what you should know:
- All pensioners will now get equal calculation method.
- If you belong to an exempted trust, your organisation must follow the new rules strictly.
- Recovery of arrears and other dues will be done as per the new structure.
These rules provide clarity to those who had opted for higher pension based on actual salary rather than the basic limit.
Why These Changes Matter for Employees
These new rules are a big step towards making EPFO services more user-friendly. Employees often faced issues with profile errors, delayed PF transfers, pension credit problems, or unclear processes. With these digital and transparent updates:
- Members can self-manage their data securely.
- Pensioners get money faster and to any bank of their choice.
- Delays in PF transfer are removed.
- Overall experience becomes smoother for working and retired employees.
Source: Financial Express
