EPFO 3.0 slashes claim settlement from 20 days to 3; can it get faster?

The Ministry of Labour & Employment has highlighted a series of EPFO reforms aimed at expanding social security coverage and improving service delivery across India. Key initiatives include digital simplification of registration, wider regional outreach, and accelerated claims and pension processing.

One major step is the introduction of common online registration via the Shram Suvidha Portal, allowing establishments to register digitally by submitting required data and documents. Additionally, new companies incorporated under the Companies Act are automatically registered with EPFO through the Ministry of Corporate Affairs using SPICe+ and AGILE-PRO forms, reducing procedural delays and improving compliance.

The reforms also extend to the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, bringing workers under the national EPFO framework for provident fund, pension, and insurance benefits. To widen coverage further, EPFO introduced self-generation of Universal Account Numbers (UAN), enhanced in April 2025 with Aadhaar-based Face Authentication Technology (FAT) via the UMANG app, allowing employees to register and activate accounts seamlessly.

The impact of these reforms is evident in sharp growth in membership. New establishment registrations rose from 1,17,064 in 2019-20 to 2,94,910 in 2023-24, a 251% increase, while contributing members grew from 4.89 crore to 7.37 crore, marking a 150% rise.

Digital transformation under Project EPFO 3.0 and the Centralised Pension Payment System (CPPS) has further improved efficiency. Pensioners can now receive payments through any bank branch nationwide without transferring Pension Payment Orders, and claims passing risk validation are processed automatically, cutting settlement time from up to 20 days to less than three days.

To ensure effectiveness, EPFO also conducts regular monitoring of grievance redressal across its zonal and field offices, analysing complaints to implement systemic improvements. The reforms were detailed in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha by Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Sushri Shobha Karandlaje, highlighting the expansion of social security and faster service delivery under the revamped EPFO framework.