New EPF Withdrawal Rules 2021

EPF Withdrawal Rules 2021: According to the latest EPFO law and rule, 75% of the total EPF corpus can be withdrawn after around a month of unemployment has passed.

The remaining percentage of 25% is completely transferable and can be done so to a new account.

For more information, Check out related articles UAN Activation, UAN Login, EPF Claim Status & PF Passbook

New EPF Withdrawal Rules 2021

The EPF account consists of contributions from the employer and employee. However, the money in an EPF account cannot be withdrawn at whim.

Here are 10 important rules about EPF withdrawal:

• Money from the EPF account cannot be withdrawn during employment, unlike a bank account. EPF is a long-term retirement savings scheme. The money can be withdrawn only after retirement.
• Partial withdrawal from EPF accounts is permitted in the case of an emergency such as medical emergency, house purchase or construction, and higher education. Partial withdrawal is subject to limits depending on the reason. The account holder can request online for partial withdrawal.
• Although the EPF corpus can be withdrawn only after retirement, early retirement is not considered until the person reaches 55 years of age. EPFO allows withdrawal of 90% of the EPF corpus 1 year before retirement, provided the person is not less than 54 years old.
• The EPF corpus can be withdrawn if a person faces unemployment before retirement due to lock-down or retrenchment.
• The EPF subscriber has to declare unemployment in order to withdraw the EPF amount.
• As per the new rule, EPFO allows withdrawal of 75% of the EPF corpus after 1 month of unemployment. The remaining 25% can be transferred to a new EPF account after gaining new employment.
• As per the old rule, 100% EPF withdrawal is allowed after 2 months of unemployment.
• EPF corpus withdrawal is exempted from tax but under certain conditions. Tax exemption on EPF corpus is permitted only if an employee contributes to the EPF account for 5 continuous years. The EPF amount is taxable if there is a break in the contribution to the account for 5 continuous years. In that case, the entire EPF amount will be considered as taxable income for that financial year.
• Tax is deducted at source on premature withdrawal of the EPF corpus. However, if the entire amount is less than Rs.50,000, then TDS is not applicable. Keep in mind, if an employee provides PAN with the application, the applicable TDS rate is 10%. Otherwise, it is 30% plus tax. Form 15H/15G is a declaration form, which states that a person’s total income is not taxable and thus, TDS is avoidable.
• An employee does not have to await approval from the employer for EPF withdrawal anymore. It can be done directly from the EPFO, provided the employee’s UAN and Aadhaar are linked, and the employer has approved it. EPF withdrawal status can be checked online.

Steps for EPF Withdrawal Online

Employees can make a PF withdrawal claim on the EPFO member portal by following the steps mentioned below. As already mentioned, if the employee has seeded his/her Aadhaar card details with one’s UAN account, they do not require the attestation of their employer to make a PF withdrawal.

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All cumbersome paperwork related to withdrawal of EPF account may be a thing of the past. EPFO aims to launch an online facility for PF withdrawal in 2016. EPFO, which currently has over five crore members, is planning to settle PF claims in three hours after receipt of a withdrawal application (online application will be transferred to the bank accounts of subscribers). To the end, EPFO has become UIDAI’s registrar. While around 92 lakh subscribers provided their Aadhaar numbers, EPFO verified around 64 lakh numbers so far (as of October 2015) for linking it with UANs.

Visit the EPFO member portal.

Choose the “For Employees” option under the “Our Services” tab.

On the new webpage click on the “Member UAN/Online Service (OCS/OTCP)” option under the “Services” tab of the “For Employees” page.

This will redirect you to a new webpage. Log in to the portal using your UAN, password, and the Captcha code.

Click on the “KYC” option under the “Manage” tab.

You will be redirected to a new webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the “Digitally Approved KYC” section and check your KYC details. Ensure the details are correct.

Click on the “Online Service” tab from the top menu to proceed with the withdrawal if all the KYC details are correct.

Click on the “CLAIM (FORM-31, 19 & 10C)” option from the drop down menu.

You will be redirected to a new webpage with an automatically generated “ONLINE CLAIM (FORM 31, 19 & 10C)” form.

You will be required to enter the Last 4 digits of your registered bank account number and verify the same.

After the verification of the bank account, a “Certificate of Undertaking” will be generated. Click “Yes” on the certificate pop-up to proceed.

Click on the “Proceed for Online Claim” option when prompted.

For online fund withdrawal, select the “PF ADVANCE (FORM – 31)” option from the drop-down menu provided next to the “I want to apply for” option.

A reason for claim has to be selected from the drop-down options provided next to the “Purpose for which advance is required” option. The fields provided for the address of the employee and the amount for advance is also required to be filled up.

Click on the checkbox at the end of the page and submit your withdrawal application.

You might be required to upload certain scanned documents (depends on the nature of withdrawal).

Once the employer approves the withdrawal request, the withdrawal amount will be withdrawn from the EPF account and will be deposited to the respective bank account. Once the claim has been settled, you will receive an SMS notification on your registered mobile number.

Steps to enter exit date and withdraw your pf easily

If the withdrawal of your Provident Fund (PF) is getting delayed, then it may happen due to the exit date not being mentioned. Hence, in order to avoid this, The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has come up with a facility in the Unified Portal where the employee can enter the date of exit from the previous employer by himself. Prior to this only the employer could enter the exit date, but now even employees can enter the date of exit.

You can change the exit date by logging to the UAN portal using your Unified Account Number (UAN) and password. However, you must check whether the exit date is mentioned by clicking on ‘Service History’ under ‘View’ on the top panel.

Given below are the steps you will have to follow in order to enter the Exit Date:

Log in to your UAN portal using your Unified Account Number and Password

On the top panel, click on ‘Manage’ and click on ‘Mark Exit’ located under it

From the drop-down option choose the employer

You will be directed to a new page where you will have to enter your date of birth, date of joining, and date of exit. Mention the date of exit as the one mentioned in your resignation letter if your exit date is before the 15th day of the month

Tax-Free Limit for PF Withdrawals

When you make PF withdrawals, you can enjoy tax exemptions. However, this is applicable only when you make a withdrawal after offering 5 years of continuous service. It is also determined by the tax slab that is applicable to you. If you withdraw your PF balance before the completion of 5 years, then tax deducted at source (TDS) or tax will be applied on your funds.

However, no tax will be levied on EPF withdrawals before 5 years in certain cases depending on the situation. They are:

When you need to withdraw funds for medical emergencies or health issues that cannot be avoided

When your full PF amount is lower than Rs.50,000

When you withdraw your PF balance with Form 15G or Form 15H (If you submit PAN, then there will be a TDS at 10%)

When you transfer your PF balance from a PF account to another account

When the employer’s business is withdrawn

Online Grievances Portal for PF Withdrawal

If you want to register any grievance regarding the services provided by the EPFO, you can visit the EPF grievance management system online. In this system, you can file a grievance, send a reminder, check the status of your complaint or grievance, upload your grievance document, or even change your password.

How to register a grievance?

You will have to go the EPFO Grievance Management System and click on ‘Register Grievance’.

You will then see a grievance registration form. Here, you will have to fill all the required fields accurately.

You will need to choose your status from the drop-down option.

Next, you will have to key in your PF number, your establishment, address of establishment, name of complainant, contact details, grievance details, etc. You can then enter the captcha code and click ‘Submit’.

Types of EPFO grievances

You can register a grievance when you face issues associated with:

Return of cheque or misplacement of cheque

Scheme certificate (10C)

Transfer of your PF accumulations (F-13)

Settlement of your pension (10-D)

Provision of PF balance or PF slip

Others

You can file a grievance online and then check its status on the portal itself. In case your complaint is not resolved within the stipulated period of time, you can send a reminder to them by clicking on ‘Send Reminder’. Here, you will need to enter your grievance registration number and password (if you have any).

Types of PF Withdrawals

Subscribers can make three different types of PF withdrawals on the EPFO member portal. They are:

PF final settlement

PF partial withdrawal

Pension withdrawal benefit

Subscribers can make the above-listed withdrawals on the EPFO member portal with the attestation of their employer if they have seeded their Aadhaar card details with their UAN.

PF Withdrawal Rules

In order to ensure that employees continue to be enrolled in the scheme and avoid making withdrawals from their PF corpus and instead save it for the future or for retirement, EPFO has listed a number of PF withdrawal rules. They are as follows.

All withdrawals made before completion of 5 years of continuous service are subject to tax. Withdrawals after completion of 5 years of continuous service in the EPF are tax-free.

In case the employee was terminated or is unemployed as a result of ill-health and so on, withdrawals will not attract tax.

If the employee makes a withdrawal before the completion of 5 continuous years in the scheme, the principal amount as well as the interest accrued, is subject to tax. That said, the amount will be taxable in the current financial year.

For withdrawals before completion of 5 continuous years towards the scheme, the employee will be taxed 30% of the principal amount and the interest accrued if he/she has not submitted their PAN to the EPFO authorities. If the employee has submitted his/her PAN details to the EPFO authorities, 10% TDS (tax deducted at source) will be applicable.

Funds transferred from one’s PF account towards the National Pension Scheme (NPS) will not attract tax when one makes a withdrawal.

If the employee shifts jobs and in the process has different PF account, it will be considered as continuous service to the scheme provided there has been no gap in contributions.

Employees have to facilitate the use of the Composite Claims Form to make a partial withdrawal or a final settlement claim.

If the employee has seeded his/her Aadhaar card details with their UAN, they can submit the Composite Claims Form to make a withdrawal directly to the EPFO without the requirement of the attestation of their employer. Those who have not seeded their Aadhaar card details with their UAN have to submit the Composite Claims Form with the attestation of their employer to make a withdrawal.

PF Withdrawal Procedure

With the amendments made by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), now subscribers to the scheme do not require the attestation of their employer to make a partial or complete withdrawal. All that the subscriber has to ensure is that his/her UAN is seeded with their Aadhaar card details. The EPFO has also rolled out the Composite Claims Form, which can be used to request for a partial or complete withdrawal. Subscribers can carry out the whole process of making a withdrawal online either on the EPFO member portal or on the UAN portal.

PF Withdrawal Claim Forms

The PF Withdrawal Claim Forms that need to be submitted to withdraw the provident fund or pension fund vary based on the age, reason for making the claim, and whether or not the employee is still in service. Earlier, Form 19, Form 31, and Form 10C were used to make withdrawals. But recently, a composite claim form has replaced the above-mentioned forms. The forms that required the UAN details of the employee have now been replaced with a composite claim form that requires the Aadhaar details of the employee.

As mentioned earlier, the PF claim form that needs to be submitted varies based on certain criteria.

Criteria’s for PF Withdrawal

1. When an employee is still under service

If he/she wishes to take an advance from the PF account, the composite claim form (Aadhaar/Non-Aadhaar) has to be submitted.

If he/she wishes to finance his/her LIC policy through the PF account, Form 14 has to be submitted.

If he/she has crossed 58 years of age and wishes to claim the pension fund.

Form 10D should be applied for a monthly pension if 10 years of eligible service has been completed.

The composite claim form (Aadhaar/Non-Aadhaar) should be submitted if 10 years of eligible service has not been completed.

2. When an employee switches the job

And wishes to transfer EPF account, Form 13 should be applied

When an employee leaves an establishment and doesn’t join another

He/she can make a PF and pension fund claim using the composite claim form (Aadhar/Non-Aadhar)

Is above the age of 58, and has completed 10 years of eligible service, he/she can make a PF claim using the composite claim form (Aadhaar/Non-Aadhaar) and a pension claim using Form 10D

3. When an employee leaves an establishment due to a physical disability

He/she can make a PF claim using composite claim form (Aadhaar/Non-Aadhaar).

He/she can make a pension claim using Form 10D.

Is above the age of 58 and has not completed 10 years of eligible service, he/she can make the PF and pension claim using the composite claim form (Aadhaar/Non-Aadhaar).

4. When an employee is deceased while in service

Before the age of 58 while still in service, the nominee/heir/beneficiary can apply for the PF settlement using Form 20, monthly pension using Form 10D, and EDLI (Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance) amount using Form 5IF.

After the age of 58 and had completed 10 years of eligible service, the nominee/heir/beneficiary can claim the PF using Form 20, the pension using Form 10D, and the EDLI amount using Form 5IF.

After the age of 58 and had not completed 10 years of eligible service, the nominee/heir/beneficiary can make the PF settlement using Form 20, withdraw the pension using the composite claim form (Aadhaar/Non-Aadhaar), and claim the EDLI amount using Form 5IF.

5. When an employee is deceased

Before the age of 58, the nominee/heir/beneficiary may claim the PF amount through Form 20, and pension amount through Form 10D.

After the age of 58 and had completed 10 years of eligible service, the nominee/heir/beneficiary can claim the PF amount using Form 20, and the pension amount using Form 10D.

After the age of 58 and had not completed 10 years of eligible service at the age of 58, the nominee, heir or beneficiary can apply for a final PF settlement using Form 20 and for the pension fund using the composite claim form (Aadhaar/Non-Aadhaar).

Reasons for PF withdrawal

The situations under which you can go ahead and withdraw money from your EPF while you are still working

Medical Treatment

Marriage purposes

Construction of house or purchase of property

Repaying the existing home loan

Education purposes

Alterations or repairs for your house

1. Medical Treatment

In case you are covered by a health insurance policy, then you are all good. But, if you do not have one and in that situation you need to be hospitalised, you might be shelling out a huge amount of your hard earned money. However, in a time like that, your money in the EPF can really help you out. You may withdraw money from your EPF account for any of the three reasons provided below. However, please, do keep this in mind that can choose only one situation and not all of them.

Any major surgery in a particular hospital

The hospitalisation period is more than a month

The individual is suffering from Tuberculosis, Leprosy, Cancer, Mental Derangement, Paralysis, heart problems, etc. and is on leave that has been granted by the employer for the mentioned illness

You can actually withdraw the money in EPF at any given time during the period of your service. It is not needed that you have a complete a specific number of years in the organisation to claim that money. You can always draw the money for treatment purposes, even if you have completed one or two years in your present organisation.

You must also remember that the maximum amount that can be availed by you is your six months’ salary. This amount may not be very big but still it will offer you some help that you might need in a crisis situation. Not only can this advantage be taken anytime, but also, it can be enjoy as many times as you want. Thus, your PF will save you for sure.

Certain documents must be provided by you along with the Form 31

Your employer must give a certificate stating the insurance scheme offered by him and the benefits that are not available for the member. If not this, then the member must provide a certificate issued by Employees’ State Insurance Corporation that would state that fact that the member can no longer avail the cash benefits provided by the Employees’ Insurance Scheme

The doctor must certify that hospitalisation for a period of one month is required in the case. Also, if there is a requirement for surgery, that must also be stated by the doctor in that certificate

2. Marriage Purposes

Money from your EPF can be withdrawn for an occasion like marriage in case you have already completed seven years of your service life. You can use up to 50 % of the amount that is there in your EPF account and you can enjoy this advantage for a maximum of three times. So, let us consider that you have around INR 5 lacs in your EPF account. However, you must not calculate the entire amount when you wish to withdraw it for your marriage purposes. Just your own contribution towards EPF along the interest accumulated on it is supposed to be calculated by you. Applicable cases are as follows.

Your wedding

Son’s wedding or daughter’s wedding

Brother’s wedding or sister’s wedding

3. Construction of house or purchase of property

You can withdraw some money from the EPF when you are planning to purchase a house or construct a house. However, you must understand a few rules first.

The land or house that you wish to purchase must be on your name, your spouse’s name or jointly in both your names. Any other combination will not be allowed

You must have completed a period of 5 years in your service

The maximum amount that you can avail from your EPF account is 24 times your monthly salary

If the property that you intend to purchase is in question then it should first become free from all related disputes. The property must be a registered one and the proof of the registration must also be provided.

4. Repaying the existing home loan

If you have taken a home loan and wish to prepay it then you may withdraw some amount from your EPF. But to avail this benefit you must have completed ten years of your service. However, you can only avail this advantage once in your entire lifetime. Also, you can either use the EPF for purchasing house or property or for repayment of present home loan. You cannot avail money for both of them.

The property for which you are making the payment must be in your name, your spouse’s name or jointly held by both of you. Many people have joint home loans with their siblings or parents. In such cases, you will not be able to avail this particular benefit. An amount equivalent to 36 times your monthly salary can be availed from the EPF for the repayment of the existing home loan.

5. Education purposes

Some money from your EPF can be withdrawn for Education purposes. This advantage can be availed only for post matriculation educational expenditures. This means, if you admit your daughter or son to any university or college then you will be able to draw money from the EPF account. You must complete seven years in your service before you can avail this benefit.

6. Alteration or Repairs of your house

After several years of staying in a house, you might think that it needs some repairs. Some alterations can also be an option which will make things convenient for you. But this is a costly affair and could very well burn a hole in your pocket. You can avail some money from the EPF for this purpose. But first you need to know some rules.

You can withdraw and enjoy a maximum of 12 times your monthly salary

From the date of construction, the house that you wish to repair must be at least five years old

You must have completed a period of ten years in your service life

This particular facility can be availed only once in the entire lifetime

The house that you wish you repair must be under your name, your spouse’s name or jointly under both of your names

Other reasons for withdrawing money from EPF

If the member has reached the age of retirement.

If they have been unemployed for a duration of more than 60 days or two months.

If they wish to move permanently abroad.

If a female employee is resigning due to reasons such as pregnancy, childbirth, getting married, etc.

Limits of EPF Partial Withdrawal

Employees can make withdrawals based on the below-listed circumstances. Listed below are the withdrawal purpose, the minimum service requirement to be eligible to make the withdrawal, the PF withdrawal limit and the relations for who the employee can make the withdrawal.

Requirements for PF Withdrawal

To ensure the process of making a withdrawal is seamless, subscribers have to meet the requirements that are listed below, if they wish to carry out a withdrawal without the attestation of their employer.

• Subscribers have to ensure that their UAN is active and their mobile number is seeded with their PF account.
• The PF member should also seed his/her Aadhaar card details with their PF account.
• The member’s bank account details and the bank’s IFSC code has to be integrated as well.
• For final settlements prior to completion of 5 years in the EPF scheme, the member will be required to seed his/her PAN details.
• Check out for more about PF Withdrawal Guidelines

Rules pertaining to EPF

Contributions from employees as well as employers add to the EPF. However, unlike what is commonly thought to be, the entire portion of contribution from an employer doesn’t go exclusively towards the EPF. The division of funds are mentioned as follows –

1. 12% of Salary of Employee goes directly towards EPF
2. 12% of Salary of Employer is divided as follows –
   • 3.67% of contribution towards EPF
   • 1.1% of contribution towards EPF Administration Charges
   • 0.5% of contribution towards Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI)
   • 0.01% of contribution towards EDLI Administration Charges
   • 8.33% of contribution towards Employees’ Pension Scheme

As per the latest changes made to the EPF rules, the following should be borne in mind –

• Revision of minimum salary limits – Earlier, an employee having salary below INR 6500 per month had to mandatory contribute towards EPF. The minimum salary limit has been revised to INR 15000. Thus, employees with monthly salaries less than or equal to INR 15000 now have to contribute mandatory towards EPF.
• Changes to pension amount – The minimum monthly pension amount has been now set at INR 1000 for the widow of a member of the Employees’ Provident Fund. For children and orphans, it has been set at INR 250 and INR 750 per month respectively. The pension amount henceforth will be calculated as per the average salary of the last 60 months, instead of 12 months.
• Insurance Coverage – The initial coverage amount under EPS had been INR 156,000. As per the recent changes, this amount has now been increased to INR 300,000 per member.
• Employer Contribution towards EPS – Due to the change in the minimum salary amounts, employer contribution has increased to INR 1250 per month towards EPS irrespective of if the salary is below or above INR 15000 per month.
• Change in threshold limit – Instead of 20 employees per organization as the minimum group size, 10 employees in an organization will be considered eligible for EPF contribution.
• Withdrawals – Withdrawals can be made from an EPF account through claim forms for financing an insurance policy, buying or building a house and a few other acceptable situations as per the EPFO.

FAQs on PF Withdrawal Rules

What are the limits on advance PF withdrawal done online?

EPF members can make advance withdrawals from their PF accounts for certain specific reasons. The list below gives the reason for which one may make an advance withdrawal online, and also the number of times one may do so online:

When making a PF withdrawal to fund a marriage, it can be done only 3 times.

The same limit applies when one withdraws their PF in advance to pursue their post-matriculation education.

One can only make a one-time PF advance claim when they wish to use the amount to purchase a plot or house or wish to construct a house.

If the PF is being withdrawn in advance before retirement, to fund any medical emergency or for treatment of a critical illness, there is no absolute limit on the number of withdrawals.

Do individuals have to provide the Form 15G/H when submitting their EPF withdrawal form?

Only when it is withdrawn after an employment tenure of 5 years, EPF will be exempt from tax. That is not the case if the withdrawal is made before one completes a service period of 5 years. In the latter case, the amount being withdrawn will be taxed. The purpose that the Form 15G/H serves is that it saves one from having TDS deducted from their EPF withdrawal amount.

Can one claim their EPF without having to log on to the EPFO Portal?

Yes, one can claim their EPF amount without having to go through the EPFO Portal. To do so offline, one will be required to get a Composite Claim Form, fill it in completely and submit the same.

Is it compulsory to submit your PAN details at the time of EPF withdrawal?

It is absolutely essential for individuals looking to make a partial withdrawal from their EPF account to provide their PAN details. Failure to do so may attract TDS at the rate of 30% or more. However, if PAN is provided, the rate of TDS applicable shall be 10%.

Why cannot I withdraw my EPF balance while working?

The primary reason is that EPFO is a long-term investment programme. It helps members in building a retirement corpus. Hence, it does not allow anybody to withdraw their EPF balance while they are working with an organisation or establishment.

Can I make partial withdrawals of PF for emergency purposes?

Yes, you can withdraw your PF in parts for emergency situations, which can be medical requirements, house construction, educational needs, etc. The limit for partial withdrawal will depend on your reason. To be eligible for a partial withdrawal, you will need to meet a particular minimum service limit.

What is the latest update regarding PF withdrawal when an individual loses his or her job?

As per the latest EPFO regulations, individuals who are terminated from their job will be allowed to make a withdrawal of 75% of their accumulated corpus. This can be done after 1 month from when they are terminated. Earlier, one was not permitted to make a withdrawal post 1 month. If the individual remains unemployed for a tenure of 2 months, then he or she will be allowed to withdraw the other 25% and settle the PF amount completely.

Can I withdraw my full PF amount before I retire?

You can withdraw your entire PF corpus only after you retire. You will be allowed to retire only after you are 55 years old. If you retire before you attain this age, you will not be permitted to receive your entire corpus. However, you are entitled to obtain 90% of your EPF corpus 1 year before you retire. You need to note that your age cannot be lower than 54.

Is there any tax exemption on EPF withdrawals?

If you have provided 5 years of continuous service with an establishment and with your PF account, then you can enjoy a tax exemption on your EPF withdrawal. However, if you withdraw before you give 5 years of uninterrupted service, you will then be required to pay taxes on the withdrawn amount.

Do I need my employer’s sanction to withdraw my EPF amount?

No, you do not need to get a consent from your employer in order to withdraw your EPF amount. You can go ahead with the withdrawal process directly from the EPFO. However, your Aadhaar and UAN need to be linked, and should be authorised by your employer compulsorily. Once the Aadhaar and UAN have been authenticated accurately, the EPFO member will receive the funds directly from the EPFO.

I want to withdraw my EPF accrued from my previous company, but my current organisation’s PF number is also linked to the same UAN as the previous one. Is there a way to do so online?

If you are employed currently and your current organisation has opened a new PF account for you which is linked to your previous organisation’s UAN, you won’t be eligible to withdraw your PF balance accrued with your previous employer. In this case, it is recommended that you transfer your previous employer’s EPF balance to the new account. This can be done easily with the help of the EPF Member e-Sewa Portal. Log in to the portal, go to the tab labelled ‘Online Services’ and click. Next you will see a drop-down menu from which you must locate and click on the option labelled “One Member-One EPF Account (Transfer Request)”. Please also note that if remain unemployed for a period of over two months, you will be eligible to claim your entire EPF balance after filling up and submitting Form 19.