Unclaimed PF corpus hits ₹11,000cr: How to claim your money
What's the story
The unclaimed Employees's Provident Fund (EPF) money has surged to a whopping ₹10,915 crore. This is due to 3.18 million inactive EPF accounts in India. The number of such accounts has increased significantly over the years, raising concerns about the efficiency of systems designed to simplify the process. The EPF is a long-term savings scheme for retirement but accounts become inactive after three years of no activity.
Account growth
Threefold increase in inactive accounts since 2020
The number of inactive EPF accounts has grown from 980,000 in 2020 to nearly 3.18 million in 2025, a threefold increase in just five years. Adhil Shetty, CEO of BankBazaar, questioned the effectiveness of the system saying "the UAN was supposed to be the fix." He added that despite having one number and one account regardless of job changes, inoperative EPF accounts have increased significantly over time.
Linking issues
Many pre-2014 accounts not linked to UAN
The Universal Account Number (UAN), introduced in 2014, was meant to link multiple PF accounts under one umbrella. However, many older accounts created before 2014 were never linked to a UAN. This has left them non-KYC compliant and difficult to access. Shetty highlighted that millions of pre-2014 accounts remain non-KYC compliant due to these issues, making it hard for people to access their money.
Money concentration
'Serial job-changers' leave behind partially funded accounts
The study also found that nearly half of the unclaimed EPF money is concentrated in just 0.4% of accounts. This indicates a small group, possibly frequent job changers, have left behind several partially funded accounts over time. Shetty said, "The 50% corpus concentration in just 0.4% of accounts points to serial job-changers, who are likely senior professionals who left behind partially-funded accounts each time they moved."
Claim process
How to reclaim your EPF balance
Reclaiming your EPF balance is not as complicated as it seems, provided your details are in order. Shetty suggests checking how many accounts are linked to your UAN by logging into the EPFO member portal. Accounts without completed KYC cannot be claimed or transferred online. Once KYC details are updated, transferring old balances into the current account becomes easier through employer or directly at an EPFO field office.