You can now withdraw 75% of PF after one-month's unemployment
Bringing cheer to crores, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has decided to allow PF subscribers to withdraw 75% balance after remaining unemployed for a month, and keep the account running. They can also withdraw the remaining 25% after completion of two months of unemployment. This will give them an incentive not to shut down the account immediately, said Junior Labor Minister Santosh Gangwar.
What is the PF account?
The PF, maintained by EPFO, is a corpus built through regular contributions by employees and employers with the aim of creating post-retirement savings. Every company with at least 20 employees is required to get registered with EPFO. A minimum deduction of 12% of basic pay plus dearness and retaining allowances is made from employees' salary. The employer also has to make a 12% contribution.
What did earlier rules say?
According to current rules, one can withdraw the complete balance either when they retire from employment at 58, or before that if they have remained unemployed for at least two months. It can also be withdrawn partially in case of marriage, purchase of land/house, repayment of home loan, house renovation and after attaining the age of 57 subject to certain conditions.
EPFO announces new rules on Twitter
New rules lets subscribers retain PF accounts till next employment
The new rules were decided yesterday at the 222nd meeting of the EPFO's Central Board of Trustees (CBT), led by Chairman Gangwar. This will let subscribers retain and reuse their account when they gain employment again. The initial proposal was to let them withdraw 60% as advance on unemployment for at least 30 days, but the CBT finally decided on 75%.
Here's how can you withdraw your PF balance
To withdraw balance offline, you can download the Composite Claim Form (Aadhaar/Non-Aadhaar) from the official EPFO website and submit it to the jurisdictional EPFO office. To withdraw balance online, visit the unified portal, log in with your Universal Account Number (UAN) and complete the process.
