Quit your job? Here's how you can settle your Provident Fund dues

Highlights

• For the settlement of PF dues, an employee needs to fill in and submit form 19
• An organisation cannot stop you from withdrawing your EPF balance
• Do not withdraw your PF amount if not necessary. Save it for retirement

While switching to new job you might have to go through long joining processes depending on the company, but do not ignore your Provident Fund settlement. 

Yesterday, we have talked about how to check Provident Fund status online with four easy steps. 

ALSO READ: Planning to use your Provident Fund? Here's how you can check PF status online

Today, we will tell you how you can do PF settlement online. 

A Provident Fund provides financial security for salaried employees after retirement and Labour Ministry has been pushing to make the steps easier for employees to settle PF online.

For the settlement of PF dues, an employee needs to fill in and submit form 19. Form-19 should be filled by the member with detailed, correct information, following which, it should be attested by the employer for hassle-free and quicker settlement.

What is Form 19?

According to BankBazaar, PF Settlement Form allows members to withdraw their provident fund balance after quitting their job, superannuation, termination or at the time of retirement. 

Under no circumstances, can any establishment or organisation can stop members from withdrawing from their EPF balance. 

Form 19 can be easily obtained by downloading it from the official EPF website at www.epfindia.org.in. 

Here are the details of form 19

1. Name of the member (Should be filled clearly in capital letters. It is important to note that the name in form 9/5, bank account and claim form should not differ).

2. Father’s name (Should be filled in legible, capital letters. It is important to note that the name in form 9/5, bank account and claim form should not differ).

3. Date of birth

4. Name and complete address of the establishment/factory (including pin code)

5. Provident Fund account number (format: state/office/establishment code/account number). 6. The allotted account number stays the same until the member quits the factory/establishment and transfers the fund to the new employer.

7. Universal Account Number

8. Joining Date (establishment)

9. Date of leaving service

10. Reason for leaving service

11. Permanent Account Number

12. Copies of form No. 15G/15H

13. Complete postal address of the member (house number, street name, block, city, state, pincode)

14. Payment mode (For accumulations below Rs.2000, payment is made through money order while for amounts above Rs.2000, payment is made through cheque).

15. Savings bank account number, bank name and address in addition to IFSC code. It important to note that the account payee cheque is sent to the scheduled bank which maintains the savings bank account of the member. Full address of the bank branch should, therefore, be furnished.

16. Signature of the member

17. Advance stamped receipt (in case of payments via cheque, this receipt must be signed by the member. A one rupee revenue stamp should be affixed by the member while the amount will be filled by OIC at the office of EPFO).

18. Contribution for the current financial year (information about contribution along with wages must be provided. Alternatively, form 3A attested by the employer can be submitted).

19. Signature of the employer plus seal of the employer. In case the factory/ establishment has been shut down, attestation can be done from any of the officials listed below:

•  Sub-postmaster
•  Gazetted officer
•  Bank manager
•  Magistrate
•  Chairman of municipal body
•  Head of village panchayat
•  Head of an educational institution (recognised)
•  Central Board of Trustees
•  Member of parliament/legislative assembly
•  Liquidator (appointed by court)

However, it is generally advisible not to withdraw PF as you can create a corpus for your retirement. 

According to PlanMoneyTax, you should withdraw the PF amount only when you don’t have any job for more than 2 months and you are not going to get a job. According to the rules you can’t withdraw PF amount within 2 months of leaving the service. 

Although in certain conditions, you can get the PF amount immediately after leaving the job. Even, if the situation arises you can take loan from the EPF account.

So, if you are quitting your job do not forget to settle your PF dues. 

This is a four part series. The next story in this series will be on how to transfer your PF online.