The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) is a government-backed, secure, long-term investment tool and retirement savings option for salaried individuals. The Ministry of Finance ratified 8.25% interest rate for EPF and voluntary PF (VPF) in FY26 for the third consecutive term.
Notably, the EPF Organisation has made it mandatory for members to update their nomination details and know-your-customer (KYC) information to complete any online claims, balance updates via passbook and other digital services.
When it comes to the nomination process, subscribers can add nominee(s) for their account either online or offline. Today, we take a look at who is considered a valid nominee, how to file e-nomination, and other important FAQs.
How to update nominee offline?
In order to add or update your nomination details offline, a subscriber must visit the nearest EPFO office, fill out and submit form No-2. This form allows you to submit family and nomination details for the EPF, Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) and Employee’s Deposit Link Insurance (EDLI).
Who is eligible for e-nomination service?
Keep in mind that only Aadhaar-verified UAN holders can file e-nomination. This is because the service is only available after logging in to the EPFO’s official portal using your UAN and password.
Further, once you have uploaded all the valid details, members are required to validate the process through e-sign by entering their Aadhaar number and clicking on the verify button. You will receive an OTP on your Aadhaar-linked mobile number, which can be used to save and submit the nomination process.
Who is considered a nominee? Who is included in family?
Overall, spouse and children are defined as “family” for the pension fund. So, their names should be added to the family list. Notably, married subscribers are required to add their spouse even if they do not wish to nominate their husband/wife under PF.
Thus, according to the EPFO rules, for male subscribers, eligible nominees are — spouse, child (married and unmarried), dependent parents, and the widow of a son and children. And for female subscribers, eligible nominees are husband, children (married or unmarried), dependent parents, spouse’s dependent parents and the widow of a son and children.
For those who are unmarried and have no children, the EPFO allows nomination of person / people as they choose. However, this is conditional, and if the member subsequently acquires a family, such nomination shall forthwith be deemed to be invalid, and the member shall make a fresh nomination in favour of one or more persons belonging to his family.
Thus, in practice, an unmarried member can nominate their sibling for PF, pension and insurance.