EPFO: Members who have already availed of the first COVID-19 advance can now opt for a second advance also
Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), has allowed its subscribers to avail of a second non-refundable COVID-19 advance under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) amidst the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under this PMGKY scheme, the EPFO members can withdraw up to 75% of their contribution from the corpus, Or the sum of basic wages and dearness allowance for a period of three months, whichever is less is provided.
“To support its subscribers during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, EPFO has now allowed its members to avail second non-refundable COVID-19 advance,” The Ministry of Labour & Employment said in a press release.
The COVID-19 second advance has been a great help to the EPF members during the pandemic, especially for those having monthly wages of less than Rs. 15,000. As of date, EPFO has settled more than 76.31 lakh COVID-19 advance claims thereby disbursing a total of Rs. 18,698.15 crore.
In wake of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic wherein ‘mucormycosis’ or black fungus was declared an epidemic, EPFO decided to lend a helping hand to its members by meeting their financial needs.
Members who have already availed of the first COVID-19 advance can now opt for a second advance also, the retirement body said.
How to Apply
For this, EPFO has deployed a system-driven auto-claim settlement process in respect of all such members whose KYC requirements are complete in all respects.
Once logged in, EPFO member has to select claim form 31 under the online services section of the website. In the next step, the user is prompted to verify the last four digits of the savings bank account number linked with the PF account and click on “proceed”.
The EPF subscriber is redirected to a withdrawal form. On the next page, the member selects the “PF Advance” form (Form 31) from the dropdown next to the text “I want to apply for“.
The user, then has to select, the purpose for withdrawal. The portal has introduced a new option, called “outbreak of pandemic (Covid-19)“, in the dropdown menu.
The subscriber is asked to provide a scanned copy of a cheque clearly showing the IFSC code and the account number. The member submits the request by verifying the Aadhaar number through an OTP- or One Time Passcode-based method
Time Period of Claim Settlement
Auto-mode of settlement enables EPFO to reduce the claim settlement cycle to just 3 days as against the statutory requirement to settle the claims within 20 days.
