Uttam Prakash, Kumar Rohit
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation marked its 73rd Foundation Day on November 1. This is not just an anniversary of an institution; it is a quiet reminder of a relationship built on trust, a relationship between the citizen and the state that rests on one simple promise: your savings are safe.
Over the decades, EPFO has grown into one of the world’s largest social security institutions. It manages nearly Rs. 27 lakh crore in retirement savings, looks after more than 31 crore accounts, and pays monthly pensions to over 80 lakh citizens. Each account in those numbers represents a worker’s discipline, a family’s small act of planning, and a lifetime of earnings placed in trust. Scale apart, the real strength of EPFO lies in the certainty it offers.
The Strength of a Sovereign Promise
What sets EPFO apart is the strength of its assurance. While bank deposits are insured only up to Rs. 5 lakh, covering both principal and interest, through the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation, every rupee in the provident fund is backed by a unique sovereign guarantee. These savings cannot be attached, seized or diverted, not even by a court order. It is, in every sense, the government’s word of honour and that is why when workers save with EPFO, they are not just investing money, they are investing trust.
That trust, however, is tested every time the rules around access to those savings change.
The Debate on Withdrawals
Much of the public debate today has emerged around the Central Board of Trustees’ decision to retain 25 percent of a member’s balance as a residual corpus while permitting withdrawals. Critics argue that the 12-month waiting period to fully withdraw after unemployment restricts financial freedom. That concern is understandable. At first glance, it can feel as if the state is holding back what rightfully belongs to the worker, in disregard of a member’s personal choice to use their savings as they see fit.
But there is another side to that story, one drawn from lived experience.
Learning from the Pandemic
During the pandemic, EPFO amended its own rules to allow emergency withdrawals within hours. More than 2.5 crore COVID-related advances were settled in record time, many within a single day. Those were not ordinary times, and EPFO’s response was not ordinary either. It showed that this organisation listens and acts when the need is real, braving all odds.
That phase also taught us something deeper that security is as much about the mind as it is about money.
Today, a deeper reality is visible. Withdrawals have risen sharply, often for short-term needs, and many members reach retirement with depleted balances. For some, claims are rejected simply because there is not enough balance left; for others, advances are processed for meagre amounts. Publicly available data shows that half of EPFO members withdraw their savings with less than Rs. 20,000 in their accounts, and nearly three-quarters with under Rs. 50,000. That figure is sobering. It reminds us that while financial freedom is essential, so is financial discipline.
The Psychology of Saving
The new withdrawal structure is an attempt to balance both, to preserve at least a small reserve for life’s later years. Because an amount that sits quietly in one’s account does more than earn interest; it earns peace of mind. It gives a sense of control, a quiet strength that comes from knowing there is something to fall back on. That feeling of being prepared, not powerless, is priceless.
This is not paternalism; it is prudence. A provident fund is not a wallet. It is a public trust built jointly by worker, employer and state. Its purpose is protection in sunset days, and sometimes protection requires patience. A governance system that only reacts to short-term pressure may look generous today but leave citizens unprotected tomorrow.
Technology, Access and Listening Governance
To make that sense of security real, EPFO has worked to simplify access. More than 90 percent of claims today are processed online, many automatically without human intervention. Aadhaar-linked Universal Account Numbers ensure that a member’s identity and savings follow them across jobs. The monthly outreach, Nidhi Aapke Nikat, lets stakeholders meet officers face to face, ask questions and get help directly.
Putting Grievances in Perspective
EPFO’s work touches almost every household in India. With nearly 30 crore member accounts, 7.6 crore active contributors, and over 2.39 lakh claims processed every single day, even the smallest percentage becomes a big absolute number. That’s the paradox of scale: a few drops in the ocean can still look like a flood.
Till date in FY 2024-25, EPFO received around 8.1 lakh grievances through its own portal and about 80,000 through CPGRAMS. Together, they account for roughly 0.3 percent of total members and about 2 percent of all claims. In simpler terms, for every hundred claims processed, fewer than two lead to a complaint, and most are resolved within set timelines.
Sceptics might still ask: if the numbers are so small, why do we keep hearing complaints? The answer lies in human experience, not arithmetic. When a provident fund claim is delayed, it is not a transaction; it is someone’s savings, their sense of security, sometimes their emergency money. Even a single delay feels personal, and rightly so. That is why EPFO treats every grievance as a signal, not a statistic.
And yet, perspective matters. A system that settles more than five crore claims a year will inevitably generate a few thousand disputed cases. The real measure is not the absence of grievances, but how quickly and fairly they are resolved. In that respect, EPFO’s record stands strong. Every complaint is digitally tracked till closure, reviewed by officers, and escalated when needed. Ironically, the fact that people keep writing to EPFO is itself a mark of trust. Citizens don’t complain to institutions they’ve given up on. They complain because they expect to be heard, and most of the time, they are.
That trust also finds expression in how EPFO continues to adapt and expand its role.
Knitting Indianness, Expanding Reach
EPFO’s role is also expanding beyond its traditional boundaries. Its UAN architecture has been shared with the e-Shram portal to bring portability to unorganised workers. Through bilateral social security agreements, Indian workers employed abroad can carry their protection with them. In many ways, EPFO is knitting together a quiet continuity of Indianness; one that connects labour, dignity and security across boundaries.
The Three Ds of Security
No aspirational institution can claim perfection. Public service is an ongoing exercise in learning. But what EPFO canwhisper is its commitment to clarity, fairness and care. Because care, sometimes, also means restraint. A system that gives complete, instant access to savings may look liberating, but it can also leave citizens vulnerable to their own emergencies. True financial security is not just about owning money; it is about knowing that a part of it will always be there when everything else is uncertain.
That is why, as an organisation, we believe in the discipline of saving, the determination to protect what’s saved, and the dignity that financial confidence brings. Discipline, Determination and Dignity – these three Ds define what social security truly means.
EPFO’s promise is simple: to listen, to improve, and to ensure that the future of every working Indian rests on something more than hope – on trust that has been earned, and trust that will be guarded.
(Uttam Prakash is Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, (Kochi & Lakshadweep), Kumar Rohit is Director of the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Academy of Social Security, New Delhi.)
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