₹9,330 Crore Forgotten in EPF Accounts! Unclaimed PF Money Could Build Nearly Three IITs
An RTI has revealed that over 3.09 million inactive EPF accounts are holding thousands of crores in unclaimed savings, even as India's new EPF Scheme 2026 comes into force.
Imagine forgetting money worth ₹9,330 crore. That's exactly what's sitting idle in 30.91 lakh inactive Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) accounts across India, according to a Right to Information (RTI) response accessed by India Today.
The unclaimed amount is so massive that it could fund the construction of nearly three Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), highlighting the scale of dormant retirement savings lying untouched.
The disclosure comes just days after the EPF Scheme 2026 came into effect on June 29, replacing the decades-old EPF Scheme, 1952. The new framework aims to simplify provident fund rules and make EPFO services more digital for nearly 80 million active subscribers. Employee and employer contributions remain unchanged at 12% of wages each.
According to the RTI, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had 30,91,862 inactive accounts as of March 31, 2026, with ₹9,330 crore lying unclaimed. While the figures remain staggering, they show a slight improvement from the previous year, when 31.83 lakh inactive accounts held ₹10,181 crore. Over one year, inactive accounts declined by around 92,000, while the unclaimed amount fell by ₹851 crore.
The report also notes that the forgotten savings are nearly equivalent to the government's spending on the UDAN regional air connectivity scheme and close to the annual budget allocation for the Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
India Today had sought five years of data on inactive EPF accounts through the RTI. However, EPFO said it could provide only the 2025–26 figures because its Inactive Accounts Cell (IAC) was established during that period and does not maintain older records.
The organisation also declined to disclose details of Aadhaar-linked inactive accounts, high-value dormant accounts containing more than ₹5 lakh, and auto-settlement data, citing exemptions under the RTI Act.
The findings serve as a reminder for employees to regularly check their EPF accounts and ensure their retirement savings remain active and properly claimed.
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