EPFO may approve Contribution Card for subscribers on Feb 22

The retirement fund body EPFO's trustees are likely to approve this month a proposal to provide 'Contribution Card' similar to a bank pass book to its around 50 million subscribers from April 1 this year.

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) will make it mandatory for every employer to provide this card to his employees. The card shall have details of account and will be updated every month.

The proposal to provide Contribution Card to subscribers from April 1, 2012, will be discussed at the meeting of the EPFO's apex decision making body -- the Central Board of Trustees' (CBT) headed by the Labour Minister -- on February 22, a source said.

Earlier the proposal could not be taken up for discussion in the CBT meeting held on December 23 last year. Since this does not require much financial implication for EPFO, the body is likely to approve it in the meeting scheduled this month.

At present, it is mandatory for the employer to prepare 'Contribution Cards' and update it every month as per the provisions of the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme 1952, but such cards are not provided to subscribers. EPFO has proposed to the CBT that this be implemented from April 1, 2012.

The card will also have additional information like date of birth, nomination and family details.
Earlier, the body had worked out a proposal to provide pass books to certain category of subscribers engaged in unorganised sectors, like building and construction, and brick kiln workers.

However, EPFO did not implement the scheme fearing that it might face difficulties as labourers change jobs frequently.

EPFO had argued that "it will be difficult for a worker to continue with the pass book when he changes his employment from unorganised to organised sector."

In order to overcome the problem, the EPFO wants the trustees to consider a uniform scheme to cover 4.72 crore subscribers