A wise man once quoted-
“All days are not the same. Save for the rainy days; when you won’t work, savings will work for you. ”
And probably this is what struck the mind of the Indian Government.
Provident Fund was introduced long back for the people receiving salaries. Since then PF, EPF, or Employee Provident Fund continues to be the most sought-after investment. It gives you benefits in tax, acts as a lifelong pension, insurance benefit, and even as a premature withdrawal option at the time when you need the money before retirement.
What are the main benefits of PF?
- The employer’s contribution has a full tax exemption
- The investment returns on PF are also free from income tax
In this blog, we tell you the latest changes in PF withdrawal rules 2022 and then the EPF withdrawal online procedure alongwith the screenshots for better understanding.
Further, we will empower your knowledge related to Provident Fund on the following topics-
- Changes in PF withdrawal rules 2022
- Recent Changes for online PF withdrawal
- Steps to withdraw PF online
India has a number of rules and regulations governing the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) as an institution. These have been laid down by the EPFO, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government Of India.
PF Withdrawal Rules 2022
There have been a number of amendments to the rules from time to time, particularly with a view to bringing greater flexibility and liberalizing their provisions in the light of experience gained in settling cases, and also for moderating some hardships that were felt by certain sections of the employees.
In order to bring about uniformity in the rules governing the settlement of claims, there were certain amendments made to these rules with effect from July 2022.
- Certain rules and regulations for pensioners to withdraw their funds from EPF Scheme:
- The first 60 days after becoming a member of schemes will be treated as a grace period and interest-free. During this time, you can withdraw your complete share without any hassles.
- You have to wait for another 6 months to become eligible of withdrawing your PF funds. The maximum allowed withdrawal limit during this period is Rs 50,000/- per year. You can withdraw the rest of your balance after you complete 1 year of employment.
- The last rule is that once you are 55 years old, you have to wait for another 5 years so that you can withdraw your funds from the scheme. You can get 60% of your total PF contributions during this phase.
- To bring about uniformity and uniform benefit items, the EPFO has decided to merge the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) Scheme and Employee Pension Scheme (EPS). The existing rules prescribe that where a claim is made in respect of any member, then the amount payable under the scheme shall be reduced by the amount of such claim. Now with these two schemes merging into one, they will also come to an end and instead, PF Withdrawal Rules 2022 will provide for pro-rata payment of benefits without making any deduction towards the claim.
- The EPFO has now decided to make further amendments in its withdrawals rules, which is aimed at easing the pf withdrawal online process, including doing away with the need to file separate applications by workers seeking their dues.
The government has announced that it is planning on enforcing stricter penalties to ensure that people withdraw their PF money in time. It also plans on making the insurance coverage mandatory while withdrawing.
Recent Changes in the PF withdrawal Rules
- The government decided to give the PF subscribers the option to take out almost 75% of the amount after one month of staying unemployed given that the account is active. The rest of the 25% funds can be withdrawn at the time of final settlement. It can be done after two continuous months of unemployment.
- If your PF account is linked properly with UAN, attestation from the employer’s side is not required to withdraw PF online.
- TDS is applicable on EPF withdrawal only when-
- The employee has not completed 5 years of service. (continuous)
- If the amount of EPF is more than Rs. 50,000.
- You can submit PF withdrawal form 15 G to eliminate the TDS deduction.
- The settlement period is reduced from 20 days to 10 days.
- The member’s portal can be leveraged to update details like DOB, UAN, and Aadhar and the nomination details.
How to withdraw PF online?
There are two ways to withdraw PF online-
- Submitting a physical application and withdrawing PF offline- You just need to download the Aadhar or Non- Aadhar claim form from here. Also, with Aadhar, no attestation is required and without it, attestation is required.
- Submitting a pf withdrawal form online- To apply for PF withdrawal online, there are some conditions that must be met.
- UAN and mobile number should be activated and working respectively.
- UAN should be linked to KYC.
Step by Step Procedure is given below:
Step 1: Go to the UAN portal.
Step 2: Login using your UAN and password/ Sign up with your UAN number
Step 3: Click on the KYC option of the dropdown of Manage tab
Step 4: After clicking on KYC, you will see a screen like the one in the image below. Here you need to see if your Aadhar, bank account, and PAN details are verified or not. Details verification is mandatory for an employee.
Step 5: Now click on the online services tab and press the “claim form” option appearing in the drop-down menu.
Step 6: After that, a screen shows the member and KYC details, etc. for submitting the claim form. Just click on the proceed tab for the online claim.
Step 7: In this form, you have to select the type of claim form you want. You will get this from the tab “I want to apply for _______”. When seeking withdrawal, it is available under the following conditions and forms-
- Form-31 – Partial withdrawal of PF
- Form-10C – Pension withdrawal benefit & scheme certificate
- Form-19 – Complete PF withdrawal
- Form-10D – Claim of monthly pension
Note: If you as a member are not eligible for PF withdrawal or pension withdrawal because of the service criteria, the option won’t be displayed in the drop-down. However, if you are still employed but going for the claim, only form 31 may be visible.
After you have applied, an OTP will be sent to the mobile number which is linked to your Aadhar Card. Check the OTP, enter it for successful submission of your claim form.
Thereafter, a reference number will be shown on the screen. You can use that number to check the pf withdrawal status for the claim.
P.S.: The person should be at least 55 years old and should have a minimum of 10 years of service for withdrawal. Also, only 60% of the total balance in the PF account can be withdrawn. The remaining 40% has to be compulsorily deposited in an annuity insurance company, which will provide you with a monthly pension for the rest of your life after retirement.
And this is it!
We hope now you will be able to withdraw your PF easily.
Keeping a tab on PF deductions of each employee’s salary is not at all easy for employers. So, we have a solution to offer. Organizations can either deploy payroll software or complete HRMS software to their system to combat challenges related to PF and other payroll-related issues.