Employee Provident Fund (EPF), also known as PF (Provident Fund), is a mandatory savings cum retirement scheme for employees that are employed under an eligible organization. According to the EPF rules, the employees are required to contribute 12% of their basic monthly salary to this fund. The amount deposited in PF accounts earns interest on an yearly basis.
Although employees generally withdraw the corpus post retirement, they still have the choice to withdraw it prematurely in case of emergencies. PF can either be withdrawn partially or completely.
In this article, we will guide you through the latest steps on how to withdraw employee provident fund (PF) online in 2024.
List of Required Documents for PF Withdrawal Online
The following documents are necessary for withdrawing the PF amount:
- Universal Account Number (UAN)
- Bank account details of the subscriber of EPF
- Identity and address proof
- Canceled cheque with IFSC code and account number
Steps to withdraw PF online using Universal Account Number (UAN)
To withdraw PF online using UAN, the following steps need to be followed:
Step 1: As a first step, you must visit the official UAN portal for withdrawing PF online.
Step 2: Now, use the Universal Account Number (UAN) and password to log into the portal. Fill the captcha correctly and then click on ‘Sign In’ button to login successfully.
Step 3: Select the ‘Manage’ tab option and then choose ‘KYC’ from the list. This is an important step for verifying KYC details such as Aadhaar, PAN, and bank information are latest and verified.
Step 4: Once the KYC verification is completed successfully, you have to move to the ‘Online Services’ tab and select the option ‘Claim (Form-31, 19, 10C, and 10D)’. Choose this option to start the claim process.
Step 5: The subsequent screen will show your member details, KYC details, and other details which are service-related. Enter your bank account number and then select ‘verify’ to check whether the provided details are correct.
Step 6: Click on ‘Yes’ to agree to the certificate of undertaking. This step will allow you to proceed further.
Step 7: Now, click on ‘Proceed for Online Claim’ to proceed to the next step in the process of claim.
Step 8: Within the claim form, you must specify the type of claim you want to file for under the ‘I want to apply for’ tab. Options available include pension withdrawal, full EPF settlement, EPF partial withdrawal (loan or advance), etc. These options’ availability is dependent on your eligibility based on service criteria.
Step 9: For claims like PF advance in form 31, you have to indicate the reason for advance, the desired amount and your present address.
Step 10: To finalize the application, you have to click on the certificate button. You might be prompted to upload scanned documents relevant to your application’s purpose depending on your claim’s nature.
Similar post: How to Check my Provident Fund (PF) Account Number?
When can PF be withdrawn completely/partially?
Individuals can either opt for a complete or partial withdrawal from their Employee Provident Fund (EPF). Let’s discuss when a complete withdrawal or a partial withdrawal is permissible:
Complete Withdrawal
When it comes to complete withdrawal from EPF, there are two scenarios under which it is permissible.
- In case of retirement: when a person retires, he can withdraw his PF completely.
- In case of unemployment: If someone is employed for more than a month, he is permitted to withdraw 75% of his total EPF accumulation. If he stays unemployed for more than two months, the remaining 25% can also be withdrawn.
Individuals cannot withdraw their EPF balance completely while transitioning between employers, unless they are unemployed for a period of a minimum of two months.
Partial Withdrawal
An individual can opt for partial EPF withdrawal under specific conditions, such as the following:
- Medical needs: An employee can withdraw the employee’s share with interest or 6 times the monthly salary, whichever is lower, from PF for medical needs of self, spouse, children and parents. For this kind of withdrawal, there’s no lock-in period or minimum service period.
- Marriage: After an employee has completed 7 years of service, he can withdraw upto 50% of PF for his purpose of marriage, his son or daughter’s marriage or his brother or sister’s marriage.
- Education: After an employee has completed 7 years of service, he can withdraw up to 50% of the employee’s contribution for his or his child’s education post-matriculation.
- Land or house purchase/construction: PF can be withdrawn partially from the EPF for purchasing/constructing a plot. The property must be registered in the name of the employee or held jointly with the spouse. For this, the employee must have completed a minimum of 5 years of service. PF can be withdrawn for this purpose only once in the entire service tenure.
- Home loan repayment: An employee can withdraw up to 90% of the corpus for repaying the outstanding home loan provided that the house is registered in his name or held jointly with the spouse. However, for this, the employee must have completed a minimum of 3 years of service.
- House renovation: For this, the employee must complete 5 years of service. He can withdraw 12 times his monthly salary from his PF account. This is only applicable if the property is in the employee’s name or jointly with the spouse. This can be availed only twice i.e., after 5 and 10 years of house completion.
- Before retirement: After the employee reaches the age of 58, he can withdraw 90 percent of the PF with interest, provided the withdrawal takes place within one year of retirement.
Conclusion
The major motive behind accumulation of funds in the PF account is to build a corpus for retirement. However, an individual is allowed to withdraw a fraction of the accumulated corpus prematurely. While there is an offline EPF withdrawal process, individuals can easily withdraw it online from the comfort of their home. Generally, the online requests for EPF withdrawal are settled within 15-20 working days from the date on which such a request was made.
While it is possible to withdraw the EPF corpus before an individual retires, it is still advised to not do this unless there’s an emergency. Early withdrawals from EPF are not a part of a part of the employee’s tax-deductible income. It is a taxable income when it is withdrawn before retirement. This is why it is better to allow the corpus to accumulate and withdraw it upon retirement instead of opting for premature withdrawal. If you enjoyed reading this article, browse through the rest of our articles!