New Delhi, March 11 -- The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has approved a pilot project to automatically settle claims in small inoperative accounts, a move aimed at reducing delays and helping members recover long-unclaimed funds faster.

Under the new initiative, EPFO will automatically process claim settlements for accounts with unclaimed balances of Rs.1,000 or less, without requiring the account holder to submit a formal withdrawal request.

In the first phase, around 1.33 lakh such accounts, amounting to nearly Rs.5.68 crore, will be covered under this reform initiative, the board decided in its latest (239th) meeting held last Monday.

But what are inoperative EPFO accounts, and how does the retirement fund body plan ...