Soon after the Independence, The Employees’ Provident Fund came into existence with the promulgation of the Employees’ Provident Funds Ordinance on the 15th November 1951. It was replaced by the Employees’ Provident Funds Act, 1952. The Act is now referred to as the Employees’ Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 which extends to the whole of India. The Central Board of Trustees administers a contributory provident fund, pension scheme and an insurance scheme for the workforce engaged in the organized sector in India. The Board is assisted by the Employees’ PF Organization (EPFO), consisting of offices at 135 locations across the country. The Board operates three schemes – EPF Scheme 1952, Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS) and Insurance Scheme 1976 (EDLI).
Having understood the basics let us see how improvements were brought in EPF to help the Indian workforce.
The Government of India has launched a website http://www.epfindia.gov.in/ to streamline the Public Provident fund. EPFO is one of the World’s largest Social Security Organisations in terms of clientele and the volume of financial transactions undertaken. To facilitate easy compliance EPFO has provided online facilities starting from the registration of the Establishments, filing of monthly returns integrated with online payment of the contributions and charges. Employers may pay directly through Internet Banking of appointed banks in addition to Payment Gateway of SBI.
UAN or Universal Account Number is a 12-digit identification number allotted to every individual by the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). Like your Permanent Account Number (PAN), your UAN will remain constant throughout life. Let us now answer a few questions to help you to start.
How to get new EPF UAN for a new Employee?
Important: For this procedure, you will need your Aadhar and the mobile number linked to Aadhar in hand. This is for verification of KYC with OTP.
Step1: Go to the UAN member portal.
Step2: At the bottom right corner of the screen, you will see “Online Aadhaar Verified UAN Allotment”. Click on that.
Link: unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/
Step3: In this screen, you will have to provide your Aadhar number and generate an OTP for verification. Make sure you have your mobile handy (The mobile number which is linked to the given Aadhar).
Step4: Once you submit the Aadhar number, all your details will be downloaded from the Aadhar database and displayed.
You will have to enter some details such as Mobile number, Email ID, Martial status, and qualification. Once that is done,
verify the KYC details (name and Aadhar),
Enter the captcha
accept the disclaimer
and click on register
Step5: If all the details you provide are correct then, the next screen will be a success message which will show your new UAN. Copy the UAN for further use.
Success!! You have now created a UAN. This will be useful for your current employment and any future employment as well.
Your next step is to activate the UAN.
Can an employee opt out of EPF?
An employee with a basic salary of over Rs. 15,000 and those who has never been a member of EPF can opt-out of the scheme. The employee can fill out Form 11 at the time of joining his first job. He will also have to present a letter addressing the employer stating that he wishes to opt-out of the Provident Fund Scheme. However, the option to opt-out will cease to exist in the event of making even a single contribution to PF.
How to verify EPF funds in your account?
Checking of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) balance has become very simple for members of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The four different methods to check the EPF balance are mentioned below:
- EPFO Portal: Employees can use the EPFO portal to access their EPF passbook. However, the employees must have a UAN and it must be activated.
- UMANG App: By downloading the Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) app, employees will be able to check the EPF balance on a mobile phone. Apart from checking EPF balance, claims can be raised as well as tracked on the app. A one-time registration must be done using the member’s mobile number that has been registered with the UAN to have access to the app.
- Missed call: EPF members can also check their balance by giving a missed call to 011-22901406 from their registered mobile number. However, the employee’s Permanent Account Number (PAN), Aadhaar, and bank account number must be linked with their UANin order to avail this service. In case the above details are not linked with the UAN, the employee can request the employer to link them.
- In case employees have activated their UAN, they can send an SMS to 7738299899to check their PF balance and the last contribution. The format that the SMS should be sent in is EPFOHO UAN ENG. The preferred language that the employee would like to receive the details in is the last three letters. Currently, the facility is available in Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Hindi, and English. In case the employee wants the PF details in Kannada, the format the SMS must be sent in is EPFOHO UAN KAN. However, the PAN, Aadhaar, and bank details of the employee must be linked to the UAN for the employees to avail these services.
What to do with PF when you change job?
An employee will have one UAN or Universal Account Number, which as the name implies will remain the same for life. It will maintain all your Member Ids. This means when you change your job and the new employer, if contributing to EPF, gives you a new Member ID.
You need to provide the UAN to the new employer. The new employer will link the new EPF member ID with the existing UAN. This can be done by filling up a new form 11 which replaces the old form 11 & form 13. This is a simplified form of earlier form 11.
How to Withdraw EPF?
One may choose to withdraw EPF entirely or partially.
Complete withdrawal can be made only under certain circumstances.
- When the individual retires.
- When the individual remains unemployed for more than two months. To make a withdrawal on this circumstance, the individuals must get an attestation of the same from a gazetted office.
Partial withdrawal of EPF balance can be made only under certain circumstances. They are explained in the table below.
| Sl. No. | Particulars of reasons for withdrawal | Limit for withdrawal | No. of years of service required | Other conditions |
| 1 | Medical purposes | 6 months’ basic wages and dearness allowance (DA) of the member plus interest, whichever is lower. | No criteria | Medical treatment of self, spouse, children, or parents |
| 2 | Marriage | Up to 50% of employee’s share of contribution to EPF | 7 years | For the marriage of self, son/daughter, and brother/sister |
| 3 | Education | Up to 50% of employee’s share of contribution to EPF | 7 years | Either for account holder’s education or child’s education (post matriculation) |
| 4 | Purchase of land or purchase/construction of a house | For land – Up to 24 times of monthly basic salary plus dearness allowance For house – Up to 36 times of monthly basic salary plus dearness allowance, The above limits are restricted to the total cost | 5 years | i. The asset, i.e. land or the house should be in the name of the employee or jointly with the spouse. |
| ii. It can be withdrawn just once for this purpose during the entire service. | ||||
| iii. The construction should begin within 6 months and must be completed within 12 months from the last withdrawn instalment. | ||||
| 5 | Home loan repayment | Least of below: Up to 36 times of monthly basic salary plus dearness allowance. Total corpus consisting of employer and employee’s contribution with interest. Total outstanding principal and interest on housing loan | 10 years | The property should be registered in the name of the employee or spouse or jointly with the spouse. |
| ii. Withdrawal permitted subject to furnishing of requisite documents as stated 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. | ||||
| 6 | House renovation | Least of the below: Up to 12 times the monthly wages and dearness allowance, or Employee’s contribution with interest, or Total cost | 5 years | i. The property should be registered in the name of the employee or spouse or jointly held with the spouse. |
| ii. The facility can be availed twice: | ||||
| a. After 5 years of the completion of the house | ||||
| b. After the 10 years of the completion of the house | ||||
| 7 | Partial withdrawal before retirement | Up to 90% of accumulated balance with interest | Once the employee reaches 54 years and withdrawal should be before one year of retirement/superannuation |
