EPFO starts scheme to bring more workers under provident fund

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has launched the ‘Employees’ Enrolment Scheme, 2025’ (EES 2025) to bring more workers under social security, the Ministry of Labour and Employment said on Monday.

According to the ministry’s statement, the scheme will run from 1 November 2025 to 30 April 2026. It will cover employees who joined an establishment between 1 July 2017 and 31 October 2025, are still employed on the date of declaration, and were not previously enrolled in the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF).

Employers enrolling staff under the scheme will be required to pay only their share of provident fund contributions for the past period. The employee’s share will be waived if it was not deducted from wages. Employers will also pay a lump-sum penalty of ₹100, significantly lower than regular penalties for non-compliance, the ministry said.

Employers registering under EES 2025 or declaring additional employees will also be eligible for benefits under the Pradhan Mantri-Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana, subject to conditions. No compliance action will be initiated by the EPFO against employers availing the scheme for workers who have already left the organisation by the date of declaration.

The ministry noted that the new scheme follows a similar drive in 2017, which covered employees left out between 2009 and 2016.

Revised withdrawal rules

The Central Board of Trustees (CBT), EPFO’s apex decision-making body, also approved changes to provident fund withdrawal norms. The number of categories has been reduced from 13 to three: essential needs (illness, education, marriage), housing needs, and special circumstances.

Members can now withdraw up to 75 per cent of their total balance, with the remaining 25 per cent required to be retained as a minimum. According to a source cited by Business Standard, around 75 per cent of EPF members had less than ₹50,000 at final settlement, and the minimum balance rule aims to preserve retirement savings.

Withdrawal limits for education and marriage have been revised. Members may now withdraw up to 10 times for education and 5 times for marriage, compared with the earlier combined limit of three partial withdrawals. Under the “special circumstances” category, withdrawals can be made without specifying a reason, replacing earlier requirements such as natural calamities, factory closures, unemployment or epidemics.