The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has made it mandatory for members to update their nomination details for any online claims and digital services. The EPFO lets subscribers decide who will receive the money in case of a person’s death. To complete the process, Aadhaar authentication is necessary.
A nomination does not merely cover the EPF; it is also linked to EPS (Employees’ Pension Scheme) and EDLI (Employees’ Deposit-Linked Insurance) claims.
EPF is a government-backed investment and retirement scheme for employees, which accumulates a portion of their monthly salaries and divides it across the provident fund, pension scheme, and life insurance.
Who can be chosen as a nominee depends on whether the subscriber is married or unmarried. A married member has to choose from among the eligible family members.
As per the EPFO guidelines, a person who has no family can choose anyone as a nominee, which may include parents and siblings. However, once a person acquires a family or has a child, the previous nomination stands invalid, leading to a fresh nomination.
A married individual must submit the details of the spouse and children even if they do not want to nominate all family members for the funds.
So, if a person has nominated parents or siblings as nominees and later gets married or has a child, the previous nomination becomes invalid and a fresh nomination of the spouse or child has to be filed.
It must be noted that for a married man, the family includes spouse, children (minor, dependent, unmarried daughter, and disabled), dependent parents, and the deceased son’s widow or children. For a married woman, the nominees remain the same but include dependent parents-in-law.
The nomination under the EPF balance also corresponds to EDLI.
For EPS, details of the spouse and children have to be provided. In case of the member’s death, the funds go to them. For a person who does not have a family, they may nominate one person, subject to the rules of the scheme.
To complete the nomination process online, a person requires an Aadhaar-authenticated UAN and mobile number:
— Log in to the EPF member portal using the UAN and password.
— Under the ‘Manage’ tab, select ‘e-Nomination’.
— Personal details will appear on the screen; click ‘Proceed’ to add members.
— Add an eligible family member using their Aadhaar number, name, gender, date of birth, relation, address, bank account details (optional), and photograph.
— In case of a minor nominee, the guardian’s details are required.
— If there is more than one nominee, you may allocate the desired share of the balance to each. The total of the shares must add up to 100%.
— Save the family details and then save the EPF nomination.
— Follow this by completing the Aadhaar-based e-sign.
— An OTP will be sent to the Aadhaar-linked mobile number.
— The e-sign process will be completed once you submit the OTP.
— Check the ‘Nomination History’ under the ‘Manage’ tab, which should show ‘Nomination Successful’.
A nomination stands valid only after the successful completion of the e-sign.
Once the circumstances of the person change, say in the case of marriage, the previously e-signed nomination can be replaced with a new one.
To complete the process offline, members may refer to Form 2 prescribed by EPFO by visiting the nearest EPFO office.
