Source: BS
Context:
The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has announced the Employees Enrolment Scheme, 2025 (EES 2025) to bring more workers under the social security net. The scheme allows employers to voluntarily declare and enrol eligible employees who were previously left out of the EPF system.
Key Highlights:
- Scheme Period: 1 November 2025 to 30 April 2026.
- Eligibility: Employees who joined between 1 July 2017 and 31 October 2025, are alive and employed on the declaration date, and were not previously enrolled in the EPF scheme.
- Contribution Waiver: Employee share of PF contribution for the past period (July 2017 – October 2025) is waived, provided it was not deducted from wages; employer pays only its share.
- Penal Damage: Employers opting for the scheme pay a nominal ₹100 lump sum penalty instead of standard non-compliance penalties.
- Link to Other Schemes: Employers registering under EES 2025 or declaring additional employees become eligible for benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana, subject to its terms and conditions.
- Non-Compliance Protection: EPFO will not initiate compliance action against employers for employees who have left the establishment as of the declaration date.
EPF Withdrawal Simplification:
- The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) has streamlined withdrawal criteria from 13 to three categories:
- Essential needs (illness, education, marriage)
- Housing needs
- Special circumstances
- Members can withdraw up to 75% of their total PF balance; remaining 25% must be retained as a minimum balance to ensure accumulation of a high-value retirement corpus.
- Around 75% of EPF members had less than ₹50,000 at final settlement, motivating the minimum balance rule.
