The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is a saving scheme developed by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). It is a retirement fund created for salaried employees and is established under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act in 1952. The EPF was initially provided for industrial workers but was later extended to all salaried employees. According to the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, all organizations that employ 20 people or more are required to register to the EPF and make monthly contributions.
Since the purpose of the EPF is to provide employees with a source of income after retirement, the funds accumulated should ideally be withdrawn at that time. However, there are cases where the EPFO allows subscribers to withdraw the funds in their PF account before retirement.
Submitting a Form Online
Subscribers can file a withdrawal claim using his or her UAN on the EPFO portal. It is important that the UAN has been activated and the bank details and KYC documentation updated on the portal.
More often than not, the subscriber’s UAN is provided by their employer and is printed on the salary slip. If a subscriber has not been provided with their UAN, they can use the following steps to find out:
- Click on the tab labeled ‘Know Your UAN status’
- Fill the details requested
- Enter the authorization PIN sent through SMS to the registered mobile number
- The UAN is sent as an SMS to the subscriber’s mobile number
After receiving the UAN, it must also activate it in order to be able to use the services of the EPFO. The steps to activate your UAN are as follows:
- Visit the EPFO website and click on the tab ‘For Employees’.
- Select the option titled ‘Our Services’.
- Under the ‘Our Services’ section is an option ‘Member UAN/Online Services.’
- The subscriber will then be redirected to the UAN portal, where they would have to click on the option ‘Activate your UAN’.
- The subscriber will have to fill out a form to generate the authorization PIN and must enter it to activate their UAN.
- When the UAN is activated, the subscriber will receive an SMS confirming the same.
- The subscriber will also receive a password to access their EPF account information through the UAN portal.
The steps to file an online claim for PF withdrawal are as follows:
- Login to the EPFO portal using the UAN and password.
- Verify KYC details by clicking on the ‘Manage’ tab.
- Next, visit the ‘Our Services’ tab and click on the option titled ‘Claim’ from the drop-down list.
- Under the section titled ‘I Want to Apply For’, the subscriber will then be required to choose the type of withdrawal claim they wish to file—full withdrawal, partial withdrawal or pension withdrawal.
- The drop-down box with the types of withdrawal will only be displayed if the subscriber is eligible to avail it.
- The claim is then forwarded to the employer for approval. Once approved, the PF amount will be credited to the subscriber’s account within 10 days.
