Lawmakers have clarified that workers who work for certain types of businesses must contribute to the Employees’ Provident Fund, more often referred to as the Provident Fund (PF). Workers will have this money even after they stop working.
Monthly contributions to the EPF equal twelve per cent (12%) of each employee’s basic income, which is mandated by law. The company contributes to the employee’s PF account at a matching rate. Money deposited into an EPF account earns interest every year.
A full withdrawal of an employee’s EPF balance is possible upon retirement. You may learn how to get your EPF money early with EPF withdrawal form 31, if you meet certain criteria in this post.
What is the Purpose of the PF Claim Form?
The employer and the employee must contribute equally to the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme (EPF) while the employee is working. Workers contribute by having a percentage of their basic salary and dearness allowance deducted from their paychecks.
The main objective of EPFO and its several programs is to assist individuals in saving a sufficient amount throughout their working years to enable them to retire comfortably. People may also use their savings to settle certain debts. Withdrawing these funds often requires many pieces of documentation to be filled out, depending on the case’s specifics. There are several EPF withdrawal form 31 online that you may use to access the money in your PF account.
Complete EPF Withdrawal
Full withdrawal of PF is possible in the following situations:
- When the age of retirement comes around
- Whenever a person’s period of unemployment exceeds two months. In this situation, people cannot access their money unless they get an attestation from a gazetted agency.
It is not feasible to withdraw an individual’s whole EPF balance upon job change unless they have not been unemployed for at least two months.
Partial EPF Withdrawal
There are restrictions on how and when you may withdraw funds from an EPF account.
Reasons for Withdrawal | Withdrawal Limit | Eligibility/ Minimum Service |
Medical purposes (self, spouse, children, or parents) | 1. Six times your monthly minimum pay, or 2. The whole employee share, including interest. | No criteria |
Marriage (self, child, siblings) | Employees may contribute up to 50% of their share to the EPF. | 7 years |
Higher education (self or child) | Up to 50% of employee’s share of contribution to EPF | 7 years |
Construction or purchase of a house/land | The monthly basic pay plus dearness allowance may be multiplied up to 24 times for land and 36 times for housing. | 5 years |
Home loan repayment | 90% of PF accumulations | 10 years |
House renovation | Up to 12 times the monthly wage | 5 years |
Partial withdrawal before retirement | Up to 90% of the entire cumulative amount, if the employee is above 54 years old. | 1 year before retirement |
Different Types of PF Withdrawal Forms Available
The different types of EPF withdrawal form 31 online include:
EPF Form 31
Do EPF withdrawal form 31 online apply if you want to withdraw funds from your EPF. An employee’s ability to access funds from his corpus depends on his goals and length of service in the formal sector. You can fill out this EPF withdrawal form 31 pdf offline or on the EPF Member Portal.
EPF Form 14
You must complete EPF Form 14 to apply for LIC insurance financed from the Provident Fund account. Your LIC payment may now be paid from your EPF account. The applicant must get an employer’s certification before submitting the form to the EPF Commissioner.
EPF Form 10D
Filling out EPF withdrawal form 10D requires members to receive pension benefits. The member becomes eligible for a pension after working for 10 years in the official sector. This form must be filled out by the pensioner upon retirement.
EPF Form 10C
Members may use EPF withdrawal form 10c sample to request EPS withdrawals. You may also use the old-fashioned paper forms or access them via the EPF Member Portal. You should know that you cannot withdraw funds from your pension if your service duration is less than 10 years. In addition to obtaining the EPS Scheme Certificate, this form is required to transfer your EPS balance from one employer to another.
EPF Form 13
Fill out Form 13 whenever you want to transfer money from one EPFO account to another. But today, when you switch employment, you may use the Composite Claim Form—which contains this form to ask for the account transfer immediately.
EPF Form 19
Members of the EPFO may ask for the Final Settlement of their old EPF accounts by filling out EPF withdrawal form 19. You can complete the form offline or online using the EPF Member Portal. The member may select Electronic Clearing System (ECS) or any other remittance method in this EPF withdrawal form 19.
EPF Form 20
When a member passes away, their heirs or nominees must fill out EPF Form 20 to conclude the settlement of their account. An individual’s legal guardian must fill out the form if the applicant is not of legal age or has a mental handicap. You have two options for quickly crediting the beneficiary’s bank account: a money order or direct deposit.
EPF Form 2
Fill out Form 2 to declare and designate for the EPF and EPS accounts. Even though it may be filled out several times, this form must be completed once an employee gets married. Both paper copies and electronic versions are accessible via the EPF Member Portal.
EPF Form 5(IF)
This form must be filled out by members of the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI), 1976, to obtain insurance benefits if they die while working. If the beneficiary is under 18, their legal guardian must complete the forms. To collect the benefits, the employer must attest to the papers. When the employer cannot provide the necessary certification, it must be issued by a gazetted authority.
EPF Form 15G
With form 15g for EPF withdrawal, members may avoid paying taxes on their EPF interest. It could also be submitted if the member withdraws more than ₹50,000 from their EPF account before completing five years of service. Seniors are required to fill out Form 15H rather than EPF form 15g for pf withdrawal.
EPF Form 5
Employers must complete and submit EPF Form 5 whenever a new employee becomes eligible for EPF. The form must be submitted no later than the fifteenth of every month. A company must enter “NIL” on the form if they have not announced any new hires.
EPF Form 11
Members must submit an EPF Form 11 if they change jobs to transfer their money from their previous to their new account. The UAN will remain the same. However, the Member ID and PF account number will be revised.
Process to Apply for EPF Withdrawal Online
Follow the steps below to apply for EPF Withdrawal online:
- Visit the UAN portal.
- Following that, you will need to enter your UAN and password. Kindly fill out the captcha completely.
- Thirdly, using the ‘Manage’ tab, you may verify whether your Know Your Customer (KYC) details, such as Aadhaar, PAN, and bank details, have been validated.
- Go to the ‘Online Services’ page and choose ‘Claim (Form-31, 19 & 10C)’ from the drop-down menu once the KYC information has been checked.
- The next screen will provide the member’s data, including their KYC and other service information. After you’ve entered your bank account number, click the “Verify” button.
- Submit the undertaking certificate by clicking “Yes”.
- Next, click on the “Proceed for Online Claim” button.
- In the “I Want To Apply For” part of the EPF withdrawal form online, indicate the kind of claim you are applying for: complete EPF settlement, EPF component withdrawal (loan/advance), or pension withdrawal. In the absence of satisfying service requirements, a member will not be able to use the drop-down menu that allows them to withdraw their PF or pension.
- Selecting “PF Advance” allows you to access your funds. Make sure to provide the employee’s actual address, the requested amount, and the rationale for the advance.
- The last step is to submit the application once you have clicked the certificate. You could be required to include scanned documents in your EPFO pension withdrawal form submission, depending on your purpose for doing so. Before any money may be sent to your bank account, your employer has to approve the withdrawal request. Typically, it takes fifteen to twenty days for the funds to appear in the bank account.
How to Check EPF Claim Status?
Withdrawals from the EPF may be made via the UAN member portal. To use the online withdrawal site, the member must first activate his UAN. The website might also help him transfer funds from his old PF account to his new one. In addition to eKYC and changing your contact information, this portal offers a number of additional online services.
On the member site, you may see the current status of your EPF withdrawal. After you’ve logged into the portal, go to the ‘Online Services’ section to see where your claim stands. Remember that you won’t need a reference number to see the status; it will automatically be shown on the screen.
Eligible Conditions for Withdrawal
An employee has to meet these requirements before they may get their hands on their EPF money:
- Until retirement, the account holder is unable to withdraw more than the principal amount from their EPF account. For EPFO to consider a person for early retirement, they must have achieved the age of 55.
- Withdrawals from EPF may only be made during a medical emergency, a property purchase or construction, or a student’s pursuit of higher education. Instead of EPF withdrawal Form 31, the EPF Composite Claim Form is now used for partial withdrawals.
- One year before retirement, EPFO allows a 90% withdrawal.
- It is possible to get money from the EPF fund if you become unemployed before retirement due to lockdown or layoffs.
- According to the new rules, you may only collect 75% of your corpus once unemployed for one month. You may transfer the remaining funds to your new EPF account after you’ve found employment.
- Employees are not required to get their employer’s approval before using money from their EPF. Online approval becomes feasible after linking their UAN and Aadhar to their EPF account.
FAQ’s:-
You may get a 10% tax discount if you take money out of your EPF before the 5-year term is over (but only if you disclose your PAN when you take it out; otherwise, 30%). However, after five years of continuous service, withdrawals from the EPF are not subject to taxes.
If the EPF is withdrawn before five consecutive years of service, a 10% tax will be taken from it. Keep in mind that your PAN will be required whenever you make a withdrawal. There will be a 30% withholding if you choose not to. Furthermore, the employee may transfer funds from his PF to his NPS tax-free.
Any money an employee takes from their EPF should be recorded under “Income from salary” as income. When you submit your income tax return, you may disclose any withdrawals from your EPF account by selecting “Section 10(12) Recognized Provident Fund” on the site.