To expand the 'Ease of Living' of its 7.5 crore members, Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has decided to enhance the auto settlement of advanced claim (ASAC) limit by five times from currently Rs 1 lakh, sources told ANI. 

According to sources, Sumita Dawra, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment had approved the proposal to enhance the limit from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh in the 113th meeting of Executive Committee (EC) of Central Board of Trustees (CBT), held last week.  This revision will enhance the ease of living for its crores of members. 

The meeting was held in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir on March 28, which was attended by Ramesh Krishnamurthi, Central Provident Fund Commissioner, EPFO. 

Now, the recommendation will go for the approval of CBT. 

After the approval of CBT, EPFO members can withdraw PF up to Rs 5 lakh through ASAC. 

The auto mode of claim settlement was introduced in April 2020 for advance for illness. 

In May 2024, the EPFO increased the auto settlement of the advanced claim limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. 

EPFO has also introduced auto mode settlement of advance claims for 3 more categories: education, marriage, and housing. 

Earlier, members were able to withdraw their PF for only illness/hospitalisation purposes. 

The auto-mode claims are processed within three days, with 95 percent of claims now being automated.

The EPFO achieved a historic high of 2.16 crore auto-claims settlement as of March 6, 2025, during the current financial year, up from 89.52 lakh in 2023-24.

According to sources, the rejection of claims ratio has also been reduced to 30 per cent, from 50 per cent last year.