Claiming EPF benefits after member's death

Families of Employees’ Provident Fund subscribers can claim the deceased member’s provident fund, pension and insurance benefits online through the EPFO portal. At present, this facility is available only on the EPFO website and not through the Umang app.

The EPFO recently credited interest for FY2025-26 at 8.25%, marking the third consecutive year that subscribers have received the same rate. If an EPF member passes away, the savings accumulated in the account do not lapse.

Claiming EPF Amount

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. Under EPF rules, the spouse and children are considered family members for the purpose of payment.

If a member had no family while filing the nomination, they could nominate any person of their choice. However, if the member later got married or acquired a family, a fresh nomination in favour of family members becomes necessary.

In cases where the member is unmarried and has no living spouse or eligible child, a sibling can also be nominated for PF and pension benefits.

Required Documents

Before starting 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)

The application can be submitted through the EPFO member portal. First, enter the deceased member’s UAN along with the beneficiary’s Aadhaar details, date of birth and captcha.

Once verified, select the death claim option. Review the employee’s details, enter the date of death and upload the death certificate. Then provide the beneficiary’s contact and address details.

Submission Process

Applicants can choose one or more of the following claims, depending on eligibility:

Form 20 for lump-sum provident fund withdrawal
Form 5IF for EDLI insurance benefits

Finally, enter the beneficiary’s bank details, upload a cancelled cheque and complete the submission using the OTP sent to the Aadhaar-linked mobile number of the beneficiary.

For FY2025-26, EPF and Voluntary Provident Fund deposits continue to earn 8.25% annual interest. Employee contributions up to ₹1.5 lakh qualify for deduction under Section 80C under the old tax regime.

Employer contributions of up to 12%, subject to the overall exemption limit, remain tax-free under both the old and new tax regimes. Interest earned on eligible EPF contributions also remains tax-exempt within the prescribed limits.

EPF subscribers can also make partial withdrawals of up to 75% of the eligible corpus, while maintaining the minimum balance required under EPFO rules. If an error occurs during the filing process, beneficiaries may receive a message stating that service details are required against all service records.

In such cases, beneficiaries should check the Service History section for missing details and ask the previous employer to update the 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.