Step-by-Step Process – Withdraw PF Amount Online Using UAN

EPF (Employees Provident Fund) is a retirement corpus of salaried employees accumulated during their employment. The scheme is managed by EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organization), the largest Social Security Organization in India, under which employees and employers make an equal contribution toward the fund. Every month 12% of the basic salary of the employee goes into the EPF account along with the equal contribution from the employer and the entire savings can be withdrawn by the employee at the time of retirement. The EPF contribution is EEE (Exempt-Exempt-Exempt) making it a highly tax-effective investment.

When can you withdraw from your EPF account?

The retirement fund can be withdrawn at the following stages:

1. After retirement from the service

EPF forms an important part of the retirement Corpus in the lives of salaried employees and hence the provident fund can be withdrawn only at the time of retirement.

2. In the case of unemployment

If the member of EPFO is unemployed for a continuous month, an individual’s PF withdrawal limit is capped at 75% of their PF, and the rest of 25% is carried forward as he secures new employment. Earlier, 100% withdrawal was permitted in case of two months of continuous unemployment.

The purpose of provident fund is to support the working professionals when they no longer have an ongoing career i.e. at the time of retirement. However, since life can be unpredictable, and one may desperately need the money in case of unemployment due to whatever factors, one can make a EPF claim for withdrawal from their provident fund corpus to support themselves even during the time of no income. The individual however has to ensure that they cannot exceed the PF disinvestment/withdrawal limit.

3. Partial withdrawal during the course of employment

Premature withdrawals are normally not encouraged. However, employees are allowed to dig into their PF savings in certain compelling situations listed below.

1. Children’s Marriage
2. Education of self or children
3. Emergency medical expenses for immediate family members
4. Purchasing of house : House purchase is one of the biggest expenses that a person may do in their life. Funding this expense can be really difficult and financially draining. However, one great way to fund this expense is to access one’s retirement fund. An employee with enough funds in their provident fund can apply for pf disinvestment/ withdrawal to fund these expenses. As a matter of fact, making a withdrawal to ensure a lower home loan can help an individual save a huge amount of money in interest.
5. Renovation of house : Home renovation can be a time consuming as well as a financially draining process. One of the biggest drawbacks is that the costs often exceed the initial estimate which ends up leaving the individual in a precarious situation. In such cases, if the individual is facing a shortage of funds, they can access their provident fund for financial support. One can make a pf partial withdrawal to fund these expenses and complete the project seamlessly.
6. Repaying a home loan : Home loans are an expensive affair! Most home loans’ repayment tenure spans well over 20 years, which even at a great rate of interest can result in the borrower paying a multifold principal amount in interest payments. To save oneself from paying exorbitant amounts in interest while managing the stress of timely repayment, one can make a withdrawal claim of PF money. An individual can do the math and withdraw the amount and make early repayment which can have a big positive impact on the loan repayment. However, doing prepayment towards the end of the repayment tenure may not be such a good idea since you would not be saving lots of money on interest payments.

How to apply for EPF withdrawal online

PF disinvestment/withdrawal has become simpler with the launch of the online facility by EPFO. Earlier employees could withdraw the provident fund only after taking the attestation of the employer on the EPF form. Not anymore, one can withdraw EPF savings by visiting the EPFO portal and following a few quick steps. However, certain pre-requisites need to be fulfilled before initiating the online withdrawal process

• Please ensure that your UAN number is activated. (UAN or Universal Account Number is a permanent number issued by EPFO to all the employees covered under them. This number remains with the employee throughout his/her service irrespective of switching multiple jobs. The number is provided by EPFO, however, your employer is responsible to activate your UAN before issuing it to you)
• Your Bank account details like account number, IFSC code, and other particulars are linked with the allotted UAN
• PAN and Aadhar details are incorporated into the EPF database. These are mandatory details from KYC perspective, to avoid duplicacy of records, or illegitimate dummy EPF accounts.

Quick guidelines for how to withdraw PF amount online

Employees can withdraw their EPF balance through the EPFO portal. If you want to know how to apply for PF online withdrawal. Here are the steps to navigate through the site to make a PF withdrawal claim.

• Open the EPFO portal – https://www.epfindia.gov.in/ or https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/
• You will find different options on the Home page of EPFO such as ‘our services’, .status of establishments’, EPFO Corner, and Miscellaneous
• Click on the ‘Our Services’ tab that is available on the left corner of the page.
• A drop-down box will appear
• Click on the ‘for Employees ‘option in the drop-down menu
• A new window will open with the ‘For Employees’ heading
• You will find three menus: Services-Important links-Downloads
• Under the Service Menu list of options will be there, Choose “Member UAN/Online Service (OCS/OTCP)”.
• You will be redirected to a fresh webpage. Enter your UAN, password, and Captcha code to log into the website.
• You will land on a Home page with various tabs –Home, View, Manage, Account, and Online services
• Click on the ‘Manage’ Tab.
• A drop-down box will be displayed.
• Select ‘KYC’ under the Manage button.
• A new webpage will appear. At the bottom of the page, you will find the “Digitally Approved KYC” option. Click on it to view your KYC details like bank details, PAN number, and Aadhar Number. Go through the KYC particulars carefully and ensure that the details are correct.
• Once you are sure that all the KYC details displayed are correct, go to the top of the page and choose the tab ’online services
• A drop-down box will appear. Select CLAIM FORM-31, 19 & 10C from dropdown.
• Automatically generated ‘CLAIM FORM’ will be displayed on a new page.
• The form contains
  • ‘Member Details’ with Name and Date of Birth KYC details with PAN and Aadhar number
  • Branch name and address
  • Service Details with Member id, date of joining EPF, and Reason for leaving
• You need to fill in the last 4 digits of your registered bank account number and verify the same.
• Once you verify the bank account number, ‘A Certificate of Undertaking’ is generated with the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ options. The undertaking essentially seeks your approval to credit the EPF proceeds into the bank account specified by you
• Click on ‘Yes’ to proceed.
• Click on the “Proceed for Online Claim” option and subsequently select the “PF ADVANCE (FORM – 31)” option from the drop-down menu. You can find it next to the “I want to apply for” option.
• It will prompt you to specify the reason for your EPF divestment..
• Various reasons like illness, medical expenses, loss of wages, natural calamities, house construction Etc…
• Click on the suitable reason to proceed.
• Fill in your address and the amount to be withdrawn
• Click on the checkbox to proceed with the submission of the withdrawal application
• Scan and Upload the required documents if necessary
• Your application will be forwarded to your employer for approval.
• Once approved, your PF amount will be released and credited into your bank account.

The above steps,  if followed diligently can help make PF settlement easy and quick!

Why should you Withdraw from EPF Online?

There are many advantages of withdrawal of PF online and some of them are listed below

• Simplified process – you can initiate and withdraw your PF from the comfort of your home with just a few clicks. All that you require is an activated UAN and seeding the same with Aadhar number and PAN number along with bank details. You can skip going to EPFO physically and submitting the withdrawal form.
• Quick Processing – it takes less time to process the online withdrawal request and if all the documents are in place, the amount will be credited into your account within 15 days.
• Previous employer’s attestation is not required – this is possibly the biggest advantage of opting for online withdrawal. Earlier employees were at the mercy of the employers to secure attestation on the form and concerned documents. With the introduction of the online facility, documents get verified easily and also saves them from visiting the employer’s office.

Conclusion:

Employees Provident Fund or EPF money is a kind of retirement savings that can be used by the employees at the time of their retirement or in some capital intensive scenarios where one may genuinely need funds like medical expenses, children’s education, or home-related costs. With the new online facilities being introduced by the EPFO, pension withdrawal becomes possible on the EPFO portal. Therefore, one does not have to attain the attestation of an employer in the process of EPF advance. Activation of a UAN followed by a link-up process with Aadhar and Bank details has made the process easier, quicker, and easier, often being completed within 15 days.

EPF Divestment/Withdrawal FAQs:

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