Have provident fund (PF), but worried about your balance? See if your company is treating you right

Provident fund (PF) is one of the most important savings options for employees. If anything goes wrong, they will pay a hefty price in terms of loss of money. Sometimes, there are big reasons to worry. In the latest instance, a notice from the Provident Fund department to the CEO of an energy firm exposed an alleged PF fraud of Rs 40 lakh. The notice took the CEO by surprise and he filed an FIR in the case following which the police has arrested the manager of the accounts department, according to a Times of India report. The manager allegedly diverted the PF money meant for employees to his personal account! However, this is not the first such case. Many different cases of PF fraud have been reported earlier as well. In all the cases, those who suffered are employees of the company as they did not get the hard-earned provident fund money deposited into their PF account. Though a possible fraud cannot be foretold, but it can be avoided by keeping a regular track of PF fund history. If you are an employee of a private firm, even then you can keep a track of your provident fund amount.

How to check your provident fund balance?

You can check your PF balance on a regular basis in various ways including EPFO portal, EPFO app, SMS, m-sewa app and Umang App. For this, you need to have your UAN number (mentioned on your salary slip). If you don't have it, you can ask your employer to provide it to you. Though UAN is provided by the EPFO, it has to be activated and verified by the employer.

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EPFO Portal

To check your PF passbook, you need to register on the PF department's unified portal using your UAN number. Once regsitered, you can visit passbook.epfindia.gov.in/MemberPassBook/Login.jsp. Login using your UAN number and password to check your passbook.

Umang app

The Umang app was launched by the government to enable employees to check their PF balance on their mobile phone. Besides other services, the app helps you view EPF Passbook, raise withdrawal claim and track the claim status.

By SMS

You can get PF balance message at your phone by sending an SMS at 7738299899. Type "EPFOHO UAN ENG" and send it to 7738299899. ENG stands for the English language, you can type MAR for getting the details in Marathi. For example, to receive an SMS in Telugu, send 'EPFOHO UAN TEL' to 7738299899 from your registered mobile number on which UAN is linked.

By Missed Call

Members registered on the UAN portal may get their details available with EPFO by giving a missed call to 011-22901406 from their registered Mobile number. If the UAN of the member is seeded with any one of the Bank A/C number, AADHAAR and PAN the member will get details of last contribution and PF Balance.

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If you find any irregularities in your PF deposit history or amount, inform your employer that the PF is not being credited regularly. This will possibly raise the alarm and any possible attempt of fraud or fund diversion can be avoided.