PF Withdrawal

PF (Provident Fund) withdrawal is usually allowed after 58 years of age or retirement age of an employee. Though partial and complete withdrawal is allowed before the employee attains retirement age or meets the eligible criteria for completed service years, there are terms and conditions on the same.

As per the latest EPFO law, you can withdraw 75% of the entire EPF corpus after a month of unemployment.
The 25% of remaining funds is transferable to a new account after you get a new job.
You are allowed to withdraw funds during a medical emergency, higher education, marriage, purchase of house or its construction, home repairs/alterations.
You can also request for withdrawal for home loan repayment, female on marriage/pregnancy/childbirth, and several other reasons.

In this post, we will discuss about EPF withdrawal rules, types of PF withdrawals, how to withdraw online, claim forms, eligibility criteria for raising a claim, eligible reasons for premature withdrawals, tax exemptions on the Provident Fund, entering exit date to ease withdrawals, types of EPFO grievances, and FAQs.

EPF Withdrawal Rules to Keep in Mind

Here are 10 rules regarding EPF withdrawal:

You cannot withdraw a sum from the EPF account during employment period. You can only withdraw after retirement.
You can make a withdrawal due to unemployment before retirement. The cause of unemployment should be either retrenchment or lock-down. You have to declare unemployment in this case.
Early retirement is not considered till you are 55 years of age. You can withdraw 90% of the corpus a year before retirement. But this is possible, if you are not less than 54 years old.
Partial withdrawal is allowed in case of an emergency such as higher education, purchase of house or its construction, or medical contingency. You can request online for the withdrawal. However, partial withdrawals are subject to limits depending on the reason.
You can withdraw up to 75% of the corpus after a month of losing your job. You can transfer the remaining 25% amount to a new EPF account, after getting a new job.
You can withdraw 100% of corpus after 2 months of unemployment.
As an employee, you do not have to wait for your employer’s approval for EPF withdrawal. If you have Aadhaar linked with UAN, then you can request for withdrawal directly from the EPFO. You can check status of EPF withdrawal online.
The withdrawal of PF corpus is exempted from tax, but certain conditions apply. The exemption is application if you as an employee have contributed to the EPF account for 5 continuous years. If there is a break in the 5-year period, then the EPF amount is taxable for that financial year.
If you make a premature withdrawal then tax is deductible on EPF corpus. TDS is not applicable if the entire sum is lower than Rs. 50,000. Form 15H/15G is a declaration form. This form reveals your total income, and the same is not taxable. In this case, no TDS will apply.
The applicable TDS is 10% if you provide your PAN with the withdrawal application. Otherwise, the tax deduction rate will be 30%.

What Are the Types of PF Withdrawals?

From the EPFO member portal, you can make three different types of EPF withdrawal. If you have seeded Aadhaar with UAN, then you can request for withdrawal without attestation of your employer.

Partial withdrawal
Final settlement
Pension withdrawal benefit

How to Apply for PF Withdrawal Online?

You can raise a PF withdrawal claim on EPFO member portal if you have seeded your Aadhaar with UAN. This way, you will not need permission from the employer to make a withdrawal.

Visit the EPFO portal, and select ‘For Employees’ from the tab ‘Our Services’.
Click ‘Member UAN/Online Service (OCS/OTCP)’, from the tab ‘Services’.
Now login to portal with your UAN, password, and captcha code.
From under the ‘Manage’ tab, click ‘KYC’.
Scroll down to the option ‘Digitally Approved KYC’, and check the KYC information and ensure there is no inaccuracy.
From the top menu, click ‘Online Service’ tab, and go ahead with the withdrawal request if the KYC details are proper.
From the dropdown menu, click ‘CLAIM (FORM-31, 19 & 10C)’. You will be directed to ‘ONLINE CLAIM (FORM 31, 19 & 10C)’ form.
Enter the last 4 digits of your registered account number. You will have to verify the same.
A ‘Certificate of Undertaking’ will be generated, and you have to click ‘Yes’ on the pop-up to proceed.
Click ‘Proceed for Online Claim’ and from the dropdown menu select ‘PF ADVANCE (FORM - 31)’.
Select the reason of raising claim from the dropdown. Provide your address details and the amount for advance.
Click the checkbox at the bottom of the page to submit the PF withdrawal application.
Depending on the nature of withdrawal, you may have to upload a few scanned documents.
The withdrawal amount will be transferred to your bank account from EPF account, after the employer approves the withdrawal request.
You will receive an SMS notification on your registered mobile number after the claim is settled successfully.

PF Withdrawal Claim Forms

The PF Withdrawal Claim Form that you have to submit in order to withdraw Pension Fund or Provident Fund depends on the reason of making the claim, your age, and if you are still employed or not.

In the past, you would have to submit Form 10C, Form 31, and Form 19 to make withdrawals.
However, now a Composite Claim Form acts as a substitute to all the three mentioned forms.
The Composite Claim Form requires your Aadhaar Card details instead of the UAN details as earlier required in the other forms.

Eligibility Criteria for PF Withdrawal

These are the criteria for Provident Fund withdrawal:

1) If You Are Currently Employed

If you want to take an advance from the EPF balance, then you have to submit the Composite Claim Form.
It is possible to withdraw if you have crossed 58 years of age, and want to claim funds from your pension account.
You have to submit Form 10D to get monthly pension. This facility is there if you complete 10 years of eligible service.
You need to provide the Composite Claim Form (Aadhaar/Non-Aadhaar) in case you do not complete 10 years of eligible service.
You have to submit Form 14 if you want funds for LIC policy.

2) If You Leave a Company Given a Physical Disability

You can use the Composite Claim Form to raise a claim.
To raise a pension claim, use Form 10D.
If you have not completed 10 years of eligible service and over 58 years old, use the Composite claim form for PF and pension claim.

3) If You Change Your Job

In case you switch jobs and want to transfer your EPF account, then you have to apply with Form 13.
With the help of Composite Claim Form, you can make a claim if you leave a job but do not join an another one.
You can also avail this service if you are over 58 years old, completed 10 years of service, and made a claim through Composite Claim Form, or a pension claim with Form 10D.

4) In Case of Your Demise

In case you pass away before the age of 58, the heir/beneficiary/nominee can use the Form 20 to raise a claim, and ask for pension amount with Form 10D.
In case 58 years is completed and so is 10 years of eligible service, then the heir/beneficiary/nominee can apply for the final Provident Fund settlement with Form 20, and the pension fund with Composite Claim Form.

5) In Case of Your Demise While in Service

If you pass away before 58 years of age when still in service, then the heir/beneficiary/nominee can apply for PF settlement with Form 20, and with Form 10D apply for monthly pension, whereas with Form 51D apply for Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI)
If you pass away after 58 years of age but not completed 10 years of eligible service, then PF settlement by heir/beneficiary/nominee is possible with Form 20. The pension claim is possible with Form 10D, and EDLI claim with Form 51F.
The same forms are required in case of your demise after 58 years of age and on completion of 10 years of eligible service.

Reasons for Which You Can Make Premature PF Withdrawal

You can withdraw money from EPF before retirement given a:

Medical Treatment: This could be for a major surgery, hospitalization for more than a month, conditions such as cancer/leprosy/mental derangement/tuberculosis/heart issue/paralysis and so on). You can withdraw up to 6 months’ salary. Relevant statement or written statement from doctor is required in case of hospitalization or surgery.

You will have to submit Form 21. You have to also produce a certificate by Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, stating that you cannot get cash benefits from the Employees’ Insurance scheme. Or, the employer should provide a certificate stating that you are not being offered any cash benefits or insurance scheme for the medical emergency.
Home Loan Repayment: if you have completed 10 years of service. But if you use the PF amount for this purpose, you cannot use it for purchase/construction of house or property. The property/house in question must be in your name, or that of your spouse’s or joints owned in both your names. You can withdraw up to 36 times of your monthly income.
Marriage: You can take the EPF amount in case of your marriage or that of your son or daughter. You can withdraw up to 50% of the Employees’ Provident Fund amount).
Property Purchase or House Construction: You must have completed 5 years in service. The land or house should be in your name or that of your spouse or jointly owned in both your names. The maximum amount you can withdraw is 24 times of your monthly income.
Home Repair or Alterations: The house must be at least 5 years old from the date of construction. This facility is available only once in your lifetime. Also, you should have completed 10 years of service. The house should be in your name, or that of your spouse’s, or jointly owned by both.
Higher Education: You can withdraw only for post matriculation expenses. To avail this option, you must have completed 7 years in service.
Other Reasons: You can fully withdraw the balance amount after reaching your retirement age. Female employees can withdraw on resignation due to marriage/pregnancy/childbirth. Or you can withdraw if you have been unemployed for more than 2 months or 60 days. You can do so even if you want to move abroad permanently.

Tax Exemptions on PF Withdrawals

Tax exemptions are applicable on EPF withdrawal if you have made contributions for 5 years of continuous service. The tax rate is determined by the tax slab your income falls in. In case of withdrawal before 5 years, TDS is applicable on the funds. No TDS is applicable before 5 years if you withdraw for the following reasons:

Withdrawals given an unavoidable health issue or medical emergency.
If the total Provident Fund amount is less than Rs. 50,000.
If your employer withdraws his/her business.
If you transfer the balance from a PF account to another.
If you withdraw with Form 15G or Form 15H. If you provide PAN, the TDS applicable is 10%.

How to Withdraw PF by Entering Exit Date?

If you do not mention exit date from employment, then the Provident Fund withdrawal process may get delayed. To ensure there is no delay, visit the Unified Portal, and enter the exit date from the previous employer. Use your Universal Account Number and password to login to portal. Check if you have mentioned the exit date by going to ‘View’ on top panel, and clicking ‘Service History’ from under it. Below mentioned are steps to follow to provide the exit date:

Use your Unified Account Number and Password to login to the UAN portal.
From the top panel, click ‘Manage’, and click ‘Mark Exit’.
Choose the employer from the dropdown menu.
On the new page, enter your date of birth, date of exit and date of joining.
You have to enter the exit date as per that mentioned on the resignation letter if the date is before 15th of the month.

Types of EPFO Grievances and the Place to File Them

If you face issues with PF, then you can register grievance for the following:

Scheme certificate (10C)
Provision of PF balance or PF slip
Transfer of your PF accumulations (F-13)
Return of cheque or misplacement of cheque
Settlement of your pension (10-D)
Others

You can login to EPFO portal, check PF status, and file a grievance online. If the complaint is not solved in a given timeframe, then you can click ‘Send Reminder’ to send a reminder. You have to provide the grievance registration number and password. You can check status of the complaint, change password, and upload the grievance document.

Frequently Asked Questions about EPF Withdrawals

Here are PF withdrawal FAQs:

1. What are the requirements of PF withdrawal?

If you want to make a Provident Fund withdrawal without attestation of employer, then follow the below given steps:

You need to seed your PF account with Aadhaar Card details and mobile number.
You must have an activated UAN.
Your bank account details and IFSC code must be seeded as well with the PF account.
If you want to settle claims in the initial 5 years of the EPF scheme, then you need to link your PAN details as well.

2. What should you keep in mind before choosing EPF withdrawal?

Withdrawals after 5 years of continuous service is exempted of tax. But if the same is done before 5 years, then the amount is taxable.
The withdrawals have no taxes applicable if unemployment results due to ill-health or a relevant reason.
PF amount transferred to NPS (National Pension Scheme) will not be taxable when withdrawn.
To make a partial withdrawal or final settlement claim you have to use the Composite Claims Form.
In case you switch jobs and due to this have different PF accounts, the service will be considered continuous provided there has been no intervals in contributions.
No attestation of employer is required for withdrawals if you seed Aadhaar Card details with UAN.

3. What are the rules for PF contribution?

Both the employee and the employer have to add to the EPF account. The employee has to send at least 12% of the basic salary towards PF account, and the same portion of contribution is to be done by the employer.

4. How to File a PF Grievance?

Go to EPFO Grievance Management System.
Click ‘Register Grievance’.
Fill up all the required fields in the grievance registration form.
Choose the relevant status from the dropdown menu.
Enter your PF number, the establishment, its address, your name, address, grievance details, and other information.
Enter the captcha, click ‘Submit’.

5. If you want to withdraw the accrued PF from previous company, but your present company’s PF number is linked to the UAN of the past one, then what do you do?

In case you are currently employed with an organization that opens a new PF account linked to the UAN of the previous employer, then you cannot withdraw the EPF balance accumulated with the past employer. Here, you have to transfer the EPF balance from the previous employer to the new account.

This can be done through the e-Sewa Portal for EPF member. Login here, and visit the tab ‘Online Services’.
From the dropdown men, click ‘One Member-One EPF Account (Transfer Request)’.
If you have not joined a new workplace for over 2 months of leaving the past employer, then you can fill up and submit Form 19 and claim for the entire PF amount.