EPFO services unavailable till June 30 due to system migration; receivables, access to the passbook will be disrupted

NEW DELHI: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) late on Thursday announced that its member portal, employer portal and UMANG apps will remain unavailable from June 26 to June 30 as it migrates to a new technology platform.

The planned outage, which began at 12:00 pm on June 26 and will continue till 11:59 pm on June 30, will disrupt key services for members and employers, including filing and processing of claims, access to e-passbook, generation and linking of Universal Account Number (UAN) for new employees and submission of electronic challan-cum-return (ECR).

EPFO said the migration is aimed at upgrading its technology infrastructure, with the revamped system expected to provide faster, more reliable and more secure services. Normal operations are scheduled to resume on July 1.

The outage is likely to affect subscribers who plan to make a withdrawal, transfer or pension request in the coming days. Employers may also experience delays in hiring new employees and completing monthly filings.

EPFO has advised members and employers to plan their transactions accordingly. During the migration period, help will be available through the EPFO call center at 14470.

“The five-day outage is unusually long for routine maintenance, suggesting that EPFO may be gearing up to launch a substantially revamped version of its digital infrastructure. We have to wait and see if the migration paves the way for long-awaited reforms like UPI-based withdrawals, a simplified application process or the implementation of new rules for withdrawals under EPFO 3.0, although the organization has not yet made any announcements, Kunalstobra has not yet. technology firm providing claim resolution across EPF, Banking, Wills and Trusts.

The announcement comes almost a week after the EPFO kept the EPF interest rate at 8.25% for FY26. This is the third consecutive financial year (FY24, FY25 and FY26) that the pension fund authority has kept the rate unchanged, providing stability in returns despite the changing interest rate environment. It increased from 8.15% in FY23 to 8.25% in FY24.

If members are worried about the interest loan timeline, Kabra has an explanation. “EPFO credits interest in installments, so in some cases it may take a year or two for interest to show up in members’ accounts. However, even if the interest has not been credited at the time the member withdraws the EPF balance, the payout will still include the interest due whenever that happens,” Kabra said.