LIC, EPFO Unclaimed Funds Under Scrutiny As Govt Pushes Digital Settlements
· Free Press Journal
New Delhi, July 20: State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has Rs 7,318.5 crore in unclaimed funds as of March 31, 2026, the Finance Ministry informed Parliament on Monday.
LIC unclaimed funds details
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In a written reply to a question in Parliament, the ministry said the accumulated amount includes Rs 5,564.5 crore of unclaimed policyholder money and Rs 1,753.95 crore as accrued income generated on those funds.
ITR Deadline Looms, Know- Are You Required To File By July 31?Separately, the government clarified that the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) does not maintain any “unclaimed” accounts. However, it said Rs 9,330.5 crore is currently parked in inoperative EPF accounts, where contributions have ceased, and the accounts remain inactive.
EPFO steps for inactive accounts
To facilitate quicker settlement of small balances, EPFO has launched a pilot project to automatically credit funds of up to Rs 1,000 in eligible inoperative accounts linked with Aadhaar-verified beneficiaries.
The initiative aims to reduce the number of dormant accounts and enable the seamless transfer of small balances to rightful account holders.
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The government also ruled out any move to divert idle provident fund balances for other purposes.
Responding to a query in Parliament, the Finance Ministry said there is no proposal under consideration to utilise money lying in inoperative EPF accounts for any purpose other than payment to eligible subscribers or their beneficiaries.
Efforts to settle financial assets
The clarification comes amid continued scrutiny over unclaimed financial assets held by insurers and retirement fund managers.
The government has maintained that such funds remain payable to their rightful owners and that efforts are underway to improve identification, verification and settlement through digital processes, including Aadhaar-based authentication.
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The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, with over 80 million active members and 8 million pensioners, is among the world’s largest social security organisations. The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) provides healthcare and social security benefits to over 150 million insured persons and their dependents.
The government has been introducing continuous reforms in EPFO and ESIC to expand coverage, simplify procedures and improve service delivery.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)