Provident fund withdrawal: Thinking of withdrawing your money? Here is when and how you can do it

Provident fund withdrawal: Almost every salaried person contributes 12 percent of salary every month towards their Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) which is a popular savings scheme introduced by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

Both the employer and employee contribute 12 percent of employee’s basic salary and dearness allowance (DA) to the EPF account. Generally PF is withdrawn after an individual retires from his service.

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However, there are certain situations or conditions for which an employee can withdraw partial PF amount before maturity (except in the case of unemployment) including marriage, education, home loan, etc.

According to Expert, Jitendra Solanki, there are certain eligibility criteria for withdrawing the PF for certain conditions.

For construction or renovation of flat: Jitendra said that the eligibility criteria for withdrawing the PF amount for this purpose is that an individual will need a minimum of 5 years of service.

He added that the amount he/she can withdraw is 12 month of basic salary along with the dearness allowance (DA) and employee's share with interest whichever is the lowest.

While for repayment of home loan a minimum of 10 years of service is required and an individual can withdraw 36 months of basic salary along with dearness allowance or the total employee and employer share along with interest.  

For marriage: The expert said that an individual can withdraw up to 50 percent from his/her total share in the EPF account. But a minimum of 7 years of service is required.

For medical: Jitendra said that there is no minimum service tenure to withdraw money for medical purpose. The amount one can withdraw is up to 6 months of basic wage and DA or the employee share along with interest.

Those who are willing to withdraw the PF amount can do so by filling the EPF withdrawal form online. Also, they need to link their Aadhaar with the Universal Account Number (UAN) for the claim. Individuals will also have to verify their KYC details.

How to claim for EPF withdrawal?

1: Visit the UAN portal at https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/ and login using UAN and password.

2: Click on ‘Manage’ and select KYC to check if your KYC details are correct and verified.

3: Go to ‘Online Services’ and from the drop-down menu select the option ‘Claim (Form-31, 19 & 10C)’.

4: The member details, KYC details and other service details will be displayed on the screen. Enter the last four digits of your bank account and click on ‘Verify’.

5: Click on ‘Yes’ to sign the certificate of the undertaking and then proceed.

6: Click on ‘Proceed for Online claim’.

7: Select the required claim under the tab ‘I Want To Apply For’.

8: Select ‘PF Advance (Form 31)’ to withdraw your fund and then provide all the required details.

9: Click on the certificate and submit the application.

10: The employer will have to approve the withdrawal request after which the amount will be received by the individual.