EPFO to spend ₹13 crore on welfare of its employees with ₹74 lakh allocated to holiday homes | Mint

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has issued a circular highlighting the allotment of funds for the year 2024-25 towards welfare activities of employees.

The total budget for welfare activities, reads the circular, is ₹13.10 crore — out of which ₹74.37 lakh belong to the holiday homes alone.

Excluding the budget for holiday homes, the remainder of the budget amounts to ₹12.35 crore, which includes ₹2 crore as central pool (death relief fund), revealed the data in the circular.

The circular mentions that the EPFO has a total of 15,529 employees across 145 offices. The employees aged between 40-60 are 9,465 and the employees younger than 40 are 6,064.

The total budget includes ₹94.25 lakh towards scholarship whereas 1.88 crore towards other activities fund.

The welfare fund allocated for OA-medical checkup comprises ₹3.97 crore on employees over 40 and ₹1.27 crore towards employees who are less than 40 years.

The organisation has allocated ₹1.26 crore on mementos across all 145 offices, and ₹29 lakh on cultural meets, and another ₹61 lakh on canteen.

The circular mentions that the welfare fund is allocated to the presidents, regional staff welfare committees who will ensure appropriate allocation of funds to the regional officers under the jurisdiction.

It also says that a central pool of ₹2 crore has been created for the death relief fund. In case of employee death, all the presidents (RSWCs) are requested to send relevant documents along with a proposal for approval by the CPFC/ the president, EPF Central Staff Welfare Committee (CSWC).

The circular also mentions that the funds allocated should be utilised only for the specific items that are approved in the CSWC meetings and not for other purposes.

Change of employer

Meanwhile, EPFO came up with a new rule starting April 1 this year under which when an individual changes jobs, their old Provident Fund (PF) balance will be automatically transferred to the new employer.

This eliminated the need for EPFO account holders to request PF transfers manually at the time of joining a new company.

Earlier, despite possessing a Universal Account Number (UAN), EPFO subscribers had to undergo the hassle of requesting PF transfers, which would no longer be required.