Have a pre-UAN provident fund account? New scheme soon to help activate it

If you have a pre-2014 provident fund account without a Universal Account Number and are wondering how to access your funds, then your troubles may soon be resolved. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is set to launch a new scheme for such subscribers to identify and activate old EPF accounts.

Don’t Miss: EPFO 3.0 makes PF withdrawals easier, but experts warn it could be a disaster — here’s why

Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced on Wednesday that the EPFO is about to launch a new scheme called E-PRAAPTI or the EPF Aadhaar-Based Access Portal for Tracking Inoperative Accounts. This will be a dedicated digital platform to facilitate identification, tracking, UAN linking and activation of old EPF accounts.

“The dedicated platform is ready. The scheme will be launched soon,” he said.

According to the labour ministry, the portal will provide a streamlined Aadhaar based authentication mechanism that will enable members to securely access their old EPF account which may not have an UAN linked with it. Users will be able to initiate the process for updating their member profile, followed by seamless UAN linking and activation.

In the initial phase, the portal will be member ID based and can be used by members who possess their member IDs. At a later phase, the scope of E-PRAAPTI may be expanded to include members who may not be able to recall or access their old members’ IDs.  “The platform is expected to reduce manual intervention, minimise documentation, and enhance transparency and efficiency,” the labour ministry said.

Meanwhile, the EPFO, which has been working on improving ease of transactions for members and automating processes, also saw record high claim settlement in FY26.  The EPFO settled 8.31 crore claims in 2025–26, compared to 6.01 crore in FY25.

“In April 2026 alone, 61.03 lakh claims had already been settled, with nearly 74% of PF advance claims processed in auto mode and 98.70% of total claims settled in less than 20 days,” the ministry said.

It further said that 5.51 crore claims were advance or partial withdrawals, revealing the ease of access to PF accounts, enabling members to draw upon their savings to meet their needs.

As many as 71.11% of advance claims were processed in auto mode within three days, as against 59.19% in FY25, minimising manual intervention.  Further, 6.68 Crore members were able to file their claims without the hassle of uploading cheque leaf image while 1.59 Crore members were able to seed their bank accounts without seeking employer’s approval.

Further, 70.55 lakh transfer claims were auto-processed without the intervention of either the member or employer and 24.84 lakh transfer requests were initiated by the members themselves without any dependence on the employer. As many as 29.34 lakh members were able to correct their profiles and accessed their PF accounts on their own without any reference to EPF office or employer.