PF Statement: How to read your PF statement

As an employee provident fund (PF) contribution is a part of your salary and you can see how much goes into it from your monthly salary slip. To get a detailed breakup, you need to get your hand on a copy of the PF statement where you will find information of both employee and employer contributions and other details including interest earned during the year in a consolidated form.

Where to access PF statement from

At the end of the financial year, the employer shares the PF statement with the employees after receiving them from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). Even employees of un-exempted organisations can view it by accessing www.epfindia.com or by clicking here. For employees of exempted organisations, the PF statement is made available by the employer generally though the company’s Intranet. The provident fund for the former is managed by a private trust while the latter is managed by the EPFO itself.

Here are few important things that are shown in a PF statement:

Basic details: The PF statement carries the name and address of the establishment along with the establishment ID. You will also find details such as the name of the employee, date of birth, date of joining the organisation, and so on.

PF Account number: The first thing to check on your PF statement is your PF number. For an un-exempted organisation, the PF number is an alphanumeric representing the state, regional office, establishment, and the PF member code. The PF account number is represented differently for exempted organisation and is completely numeric.

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Here’s a sample PF number (un-exempted organisation) and what it shows:

Sample PF number: MH BAN 0057885 000 0000691

* MH represents the state, i.e., Maharashtra

* BAN represents the regional office, i.e., Bandra

* The next 7 numbers, i.e., 0057885 represents the establishment ID

* The next 3 numbers are establishment extension ID. It can be 000 if no extension is provided.

* The last 7 numbers, i.e., 0000691 represents the member (employee) ID.

UAN number: Unlike the PF account number that is generated every time the employee joins a new organisation, universal account number (UAN) is a unique 12 digit number and is mandatory for all employees to have it. All PF numbers, i.e., member IDs will get linked to the UAN. On switching jobs, furnish the UAN to your new employer which helps in managing the PF account better. Link.

Opening balance: The statement will show the opening balance under both the employee – employer columns. The opening balance represents the total of contributions (employee and employer columns) plus the interest earned in the previous financial year.

Monthly contributions: The PF statement/passbook will show the break-up of employee’s and the employer’s month-wise contribution in rupees. The portion that goes towards EPS (Employees’ Pension Scheme) is also shown separately. Even though both employee and employer contribute 12 percent equally, the contributions are not same. Click here to know why.

Voluntary Provident Fund: An employee is allowed to contribute more than the mandatory 12 percent towards PF, which is shown under the ‘Voluntary Provident Fund’ column. The employee’s voluntary contributions are shown separately. Remember, the employer is not supposed to match VPF contribution and thus may show no figure. Link

Interest: The interest earned on the employee’s and the employer’s contributions are credited to the PF account once a year. The interest earned is calculated on the monthly running balances in the account. The PF statement will carry the interest rate on which the calculations are based upon as declared by the government.

Withdrawals: Any withdrawals that you have made during the year will also be shown and accounted for accordingly. Click here to know, under which circumstances one can ask for an advance from the EPFO.

Closing balance: The closing balance will represent the total of employee contributions plus interest earned and the total of employer contributions plus interest earned. Such balances will become the opening balance for the next financial year.