

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a one-time non-refundable advance for provident fund subscribers , who can get up to 75% of their contribution or three months wages, whichever is lower.

Employees Provident Fund Organsiation answers some queries.

• Q: How will an EPFO subscriber be able to use the facility?

An advance under the amended paragraph can be sought through the same process by which all other advances are granted. No separate procedure is prescribed. Members can apply online.

• Q: How will the entitlement be calculated?

The entitlements for advance are based on PF salary (basic and dearness allowance) which is the uniform template for calculation of all benefits/ advances.

• Q: How do you propose to make the payouts?

We need not sell any assets for payouts. As of now cash flows are positive.

• Q: How much will be the potential outgo if all the subscribers opt to take the non-refundable advance?

This amount will be known once the claims start flowing but we will plan to have sufficient cushion to address the claim inflow.

• Q: How long will it take EPFO to process the loan application?

Will be done on top priority basis.

