Labour Ministry Initiates Automatic Refunds for Small Balances in Inoperative EPFO Accounts

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has launched a pilot project to automatically refund balances of Rs 1,000 or less from over seven lakh inoperative Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) accounts without requiring claims or paperwork. Inoperative accounts are those with no transactions for three consecutive years. Funds will be credited directly to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts, with transfers to other accounts processed in phases. This initiative aims to simplify access to unclaimed savings and may extend to larger balances in the future.