PF withdrawal: Beware! Don't ever make this mistake with your Provident Fund account

Provident Fund withdrawal: People often withdraw money from their PF account after changing jobs. Many times, employees open a new account in another company and make a big mistake by not giving their old Universal Account Number (UAN). Once the person gets him/herself registered with a new UAN, he/she can only see a new company's passbook or PF transactions.

Having two different UAN numbers will make it difficult for you to see the details of your account and keep your old fund frozen. You can not even transfer your old funds to your new account, therefore it is necessary that both UANs be merged. But, is it possible? Yes, it is possible. It is easy to merge both UAN numbers together by following the simple process.

Option 1

First of all, you have to inform your existing company and also update this information with  EPFO. You can inform the EPFO via mail at uanepf@epfindia.gov.in. Here we have to match the old and new UAN number. After this, the EPFO will cross-examine both of your UAN numbers and after verification, your old UAN number will be blocked from the EPFO's side. After this, you can apply for transferring your old PF deposits into your new PF account.

Option 2

For this option, it is important that your PF account and the UAN number are inter-linked with each other. If they are linked then you can proceed further. First, you have to click on the option that says 'Employee One EPF account' on the EPFO portal and enter your registered mobile number, UAN number and company ID there. After this, enter an OTP recieved on your mobile number in the given column. Now select the option, 'click on a new page' to get all the details of your old EPF. After you select this option, all your old PF details will be filled in the given column automatically.

1. First of all you have to claim the transfer of the old PF account deposits to your new PF account, on the EPFO portal.
2. After the request for transfer, the EPFO will verify your transfer claim and you can start the process of both UAN linking.
3. After the transfer process, the EPFO will block your previous UAN, which can never be used after de-activation. 
4. Once the EPFO has validated your new UAN, it will be linked to your PF account automatically. 
5. The EPFO will send an alert to the Employee via SMS, about deactivation of old UAN, while activation of the new one.

Follow these 5 steps to generate your UAN online

Under the service of the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), any person can follow some steps and easily generate his/her Universal Account number online.

1. Visit the official EPFO website and click on 'UAN Alotement' option.
2. Now you will need to generate an OTP by entering your aadhaar number on the screen. After that an OTP will be sent to your registered mobile number.
3. After entering the OTP and clicking on the disclaimer, the submit button option will appear on the screen. Click on 'submit' button for further processing.
4. After clicking on the submit button, any detail feed related to your aadhaar will re-appear on the screen. For example, your name, father's name, date of birth etc. Now you can give other details requested on the screen to proceed further.
5. After entering the captcha and accepting the disclaimer, you can easily generate your Universal Account Number by clicking 'Register' button.