How Nominees Can Claim EPF Balance, Pension and EDLI Insurance After a Member’s Death

Families of Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) subscribers can now claim a deceased member's provident fund, pension and Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) benefits online through the EPFO portal. The facility is currently available only on the EPFO website and not through the Umang app. The online process enables nominees and eligible legal heirs to submit claims without visiting an EPFO office in many cases.

The update comes after the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) credited 8.25% interest for FY2025-26, marking the third consecutive year that EPF subscribers have received the same rate. If an EPF member dies, the accumulated savings do not lapse and can be claimed by the nominee or eligible legal heirs by following the prescribed process. New EPFO Rule: PF and Pension Claims Must Be Settled in 20 Days, Here’s How To Act on Delays.

Who Can Claim the EPF Amount?

Under EPF rules, the provident fund is first paid to the nominee registered by the member. If no nomination exists, the amount is distributed equally among eligible family members. The spouse and children are treated as family members for payment purposes.

If a member had no family when filing the nomination, they could nominate any person of their choice. However, after marriage or acquiring a family, a fresh nomination in favour of eligible family members is required. EPFO Delays UPI-Linked Provident Fund Transactions to August: Here's Why.

In the absence of a spouse or eligible child, a sibling may also be nominated for PF and pension benefits. If there is no valid nominee or eligible family member, the amount is paid to the person legally entitled to receive it.

Documents Required

Before beginning the claim process, beneficiaries should keep the following documents ready:

• Deceased member's 12-digit Universal Account Number (UAN)
• Beneficiary's Aadhaar, name and date of birth as mentioned in the e-Nomination
• Death certificate of the member (PDF up to 2 MB)
• Cancelled cheque or bank passbook of the beneficiary (PDF up to 2 MB)

Step-by-Step Process to File the Claim

Beneficiaries can submit the application through the EPFO member portal.

The process begins by entering the deceased member's UAN, beneficiary's Aadhaar details, date of birth and captcha. After selecting "Get Authorisation PIN", an OTP is sent to the registered mobile number linked with the member's account.

Once verification is complete, applicants should:

• Select the Death Claim option.
• Verify the employee's details.
• Enter the date of death.
• Upload the death certificate.
• Fill in the beneficiary's address and contact details.

Applicants can submit one or more eligible claim forms:

• Form 20 – Lump-sum EPF withdrawal
• Form 10D – Monthly pension
• Form 5IF – EDLI insurance benefits

The final step is to enter the beneficiary's bank details, upload a cancelled cheque and authenticate the claim using the OTP sent to the Aadhaar-linked mobile number.

What to Do If an Error Appears

Some applicants may receive an error stating that service details are required against all service records. According to EPFO, this usually indicates that the deceased member's employment history is incomplete.

Beneficiaries should first check the Service History section and request the previous employer to update missing records using a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC).

If that is not possible, they can submit a Joint Declaration to the EPFO office or raise a complaint through the EPFiGMS portal along with supporting documents such as salary slips and the death certificate.

EPF interest and tax rules

For FY2025-26, EPF and Voluntary Provident Fund (VPF) deposits continue to earn 8.25% annual interest.

Employee contributions of up to ₹1.5 lakh remain eligible for deduction under Section 80C under the old tax regime. Employer contributions of up to 12%, subject to the prescribed exemption limits, remain tax-free under both the old and new tax regimes.

Interest earned on eligible EPF contributions also remains tax-exempt within the applicable limits. EPF subscribers can also make partial withdrawals of up to 75% of the eligible corpus, subject to EPFO rules.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 27, 2026 05:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).