PF or EPF is also called the Employee Provident Fund Scheme. It is one where the employees contribute a small portion of their remuneration i.e. 12% of their basic pay every month. A matching amount is contributed by the employer. Such contribution, together, form a corpus. This is to be used to fund the employee’s retirement. EPF withdrawal by employees can however be done earlier itself i.e. during the course of their employment. Such circumstances have been elaborated later in the article.
Here, it would be relevant to mention that EPF organisation has made the allotment of UAN i.e. the Universal Account Number compulsory for all the employees covered under the PF Act. UAN would be linked to the employee’s EPF account. The UAN remains portable throughout the lifetime of an employee and there is no need to apply for EPF transfer at the time of changing jobs.
In this article we cover the following topics:
- When can EPF be withdrawn
- Procedure for EPF withdrawal
- Submission of a physical application
- Submission of an online application
EPF WITHDRAWAL
1. When can EPF be withdrawn
One may choose to withdraw EPF completely or partially. EPF can be completely withdrawn under any of the following circumstances:
a When an individual retires from employment
b When an individual remains unemployed for a period of 2 months or more. Here, it needs a mention that the fact that the individual is unemployed for more than 2 months has to be certified by a gazetted officer.
Further, complete withdrawal of EPF while switching over from one job to another without remaining unemployed for 2 months or more(i.e. During the interim period between changing jobs), will be against the PF rules and regulations and therefore illegal.
Partial withdrawal of EPF can be done under certain circumstances and subject to certain prescribed conditions which have been discussed in brief below:
| Sl No | Particulars of reason for withdrawal | Limit for withdrawal | No of years of service criteria | Other conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marriage | Up to 50% of employee’s share of contribution to EPF | 7 years | For the marriage of self, son/daughter, brother/sister |
| 2 | Education | Upto 50% of employee’s share of contribution to EPF | 7 years | For the education of either himself or his children after class 10 |
| 3 | Purchase of land / purchase or construction of a house | For land – upto 24 times of monthly wages plus Dearness allowance
For house – upto 36 times of monthly wages plus Dearness allowance |
5 years | The asset i.e. land or the house should be in the name of the employee or spouse or Jointly. |
| 4 | Home loan repayment | Upto a maximum of 90 %, from both employee’s contribution and employer contribution in Employee Provident Fund. | 10 years | i. The property should be registered in the name of the employee or spouse or jointly
ii. Withdrawal permitted subject to furnishing of requisite documents as called for by the EPFO relating to the housing loan availed, iii. The accumulation in the member’s PF account (or together with the spouse), including the interest, has to be more than Rs 20,000. |
| 5 | Renovation of house | Up to 12 times of the monthly wages | 5 years | The property should be registered in the name of the employee or spouse or jointly. |
| 6 | A little before retirement | Upto 90% of accumulated balance with interest | Once he reaches 57 years ( as per recent amendment) | For himself |
2. Procedure for EPF withdrawal
Broadly, withdrawal of EPF can be done either by:
-
Submission of a physical application for withdrawal
-
Submission of an online application
1. Submission of a physical application
For this, one can download the new composite claim (Aadhar)/ composite claim form (Non-Aadhar) from here:
The new composite claim form (Aadhar) can be filled and submitted to the respective jurisdictional EPFOoffice without the attestation of the employer whereas, the new composite claim form (Non-aadhar) shall be filled and submitted with the attestation of employer to the respective jurisdictional EPFO office.
One may also note, that in case of partial withdrawal of EPF amount by an employee for various circumstances as discussed in the above table, very recently, the requirement to furnish various certificates has been done away with and the option of self-certification has been introduced for the EPF subscribers.
(For details, you can refer order dated 20.02.2017 of the EPFO by clicking here)
2. Submission of an online application
Interestingly, the EPFO, has very recently come up with the online facility of withdrawal which has rendered the entire process easier and less time consuming.
Prerequisite: To apply for withdrawal of EPF online through EPF Portal, make sure that following conditions are met:
-
UAN (Universal Account Number) is activated and the mobile number
used for activating the UAN is in working condition
-
UAN is linked with your KYC i.e. Aadhaar, PAN and bank details
along with the IFSC code.
If the above conditions are met, then the requirement of an attestation of previous employer to carry
out the process of withdrawal can be done away with.
Steps to apply for EPF withdrawal online:
1: Go to the UAN portal by clicking here
2: Login with your UAN and password and enter the captcha.
3: Then, click on the tab ‘Manage’ and select KYC to check whether your KYC details such as Aadhaar, PAN and bank details are correct and verified or not.
4: After the KYC details are verified, go to the tab Online Services’ and select the option ‘Claim’ form the dropdown menu.
5: The ‘Claim’ screen will display the member details, KYC details and other service details. Click on the tab ‘Proceed For Online Claim’ to submit your claim form.
6: In the claim form, select the claim you require i.e full EPF Settlement, EPF Part withdrawal (loan / advance) or pension withdrawal, under the tab ‘I Want To Apply For’. If the member is not
eligible for any of the services like PF withdrawal or pension withdrawal, due to the service criteria, then that option will not be shown in the drop-down menu.
