Dude, where’s my PF? #DecipheringYourPF #DigitalIndia




As employees in India, each one of us has a Provident fund account! And sadly, not a lot of people know how much money is lying out there! The PF department has gone digital to a large extent and if you have no clue about your PF account, now is the time to start finding out!

NOMENCLATURE

EPF - Employees’ Pension Fund
EPS - Employees' Pension Scheme


AMOUNT CALCULATIONS

Your PF components PF is calculated on your BASIC +DA and is broken up into 2 parts

i) Employee contribution (12% of BASIC+DA)
ii)Employer contribution (12% of BASIC and DA - Out of which 8.33% (or INR 1250, whichever is higher) goes to EPS and the rest goes to EPF.

LINK : http://www.indiainfoline.com/article/news-sector-others/little-known-facts-about-epf-eps-113111500130_1.html


PF ACCOUNT NUMBER

If you don't know your PF account number you can generally findit mentioned on your salary slip.

There are 2 formats in which the PF account number can be mentioned - the old format and the new format. If your salary slip mentions the PF in the old format, you’ll have to find the equivalent new format, since the old format is, well, old and therefore not used anymore.

OLD FORMAT 
The old PF account number is made up of 4 parts as follows
Old Region Code/Establishment Code/Establishment extension/PF Account Number
eg. KN/0010088/000/1234

i) First part is Old Region Code, in this case KN for Karnataka
ii) Second part is 7 digit Establishment code, unique in that region for your office, in this case - 10088
iii) Third part is the 3 digit Establishment extension, which is 000 in most cases. Mostly this is not mentioned in salary slips.
iv) Fourth part is your PF account number.

So, KN/0010088/000 uniquely identifies your employer and 1234 identifies your PF account. Also since the extension is mostly zero, the same account number can also be written as follows : KN/10088/1234

NEW FORMAT
The new format is made up of 5 parts. The only change being that the first part, region code, in the old format is broken up into 2 parts.
The new format is structured as follows:
Region Code / Office Code / Establishment Code / Establishment extension / PF Account Number

And in the case of the example provided it becomes PY/BOM/0010088/000/1234 
where PY stands for PEENYA and BOM stands for Bommasandra 








*******  UPDATE  *******

The epfoservices.in domain, which used to host all EPFO online functionalities, has been down for over a month.
A new link is operational and can be accessed here. However, this site has very limited functionality as of now

LINK : https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/

*******





PF ACCOUNT NUMBER : OLD FORMAT TO NEW FORMAT

To convert your PF in old format to the new format, use this link to find your employer
LINK : http://search.epfoservices.in/est_search.php

As an exercise, can you recognize which firm we are talking about in the example above? :)


KNOW YOUR PF BALANCE

So now that you know your PF account number, you might want to know how much money is lying out there. And this link will help you find out.
LINK : http://www.epfindia.com/site_en/KYEPFB.php


KNOW YOUR UAN

Everybody knows the delays one faces in transferring one’s PF account from your previous employer to your current employer. As a solution to this, the government has introduced the concept of a Universal Account Number which remains constant throughout your employment. The new PF accounts are linked to this UAN once you change jobs, thereby making the entire process easier.

To find out your UAN, you can either check with your HR department, or you can click the link below.
LINK : http://uanmembers.epfoservices.in/check_uan_status.php


REGISTRATIONS

Now you know your PF account number and your UAN.
Next up, is registering yourselves on the respective portals.

To register yourself on the EPF Member portal go to the link below.
LINK : http://members.epfoservices.in/employee_reg_form.php

Activating your UAN member login
Go here to activate your UAN registration.
LINK : http://uanmembers.epfoservices.in/uan_reg_form.php






PORTAL LINKS

The EPF and UAN portals can be accessed the the links below.
The PF passbook, which gives current balance and transaction history of your PF account, can be downloaded at the UAN portal.

EPF MEMBER PORTAL : http://members.epfoservices.in/
UAN MEMBER PORTAL : http://uanmembers.epfoservices.in/index.php


INITIATING A TRANSFER CLAIM

Now suppose you switched jobs and want to transfer your PF account, This can be done online as well.

Go to the member claims link given here.
LINK : http://memberclaims.epfoservices.in/
Login using your EPF MEMBER PORTAL credentials.
You would need to know your PF account at previous employer as well as the PF account at the new employer.
And the transfer claim can be initiated online. 

REGISTERING A GRIEVANCE

Now let’s say you initiated a transfer and are facing delays or have a general query regarding any of your old PF accounts.
There is an online EPF Grievances Portal to raise your concerns as well.
LINK : http://epfigms.gov.in/
Click on the Register Grievance tab and enter the required details and your query would be answered to.
There are options to Send Reminders and Check Status as well. However, the couple of times I have used it, the response has been quick and within a couple of days.


WITHDRAWING YOUR PF AND EPS

In this section, we will look at how to go about withdrawing your PF and EPS.
The withdrawal process has still not been migrated online, and is carried out offline.
Depending on your case you would have to submit the appropriate forms to your ex-employer to facilitate the withdrawal/pension certificate/initiate pension.

Withdrawal is allowed only if you have quit your job and haven’t found a job even after 2 months. There are specific scenarios where you might be allowed to withdraw your PF even when you are currently employed. These scenarios can be found at the following link.
LINK : http://www.epfindia.com/site_docs/PDFs/Downloads_PDFs/TypesOfAdvances_Form31.pdf

To find out which form you would need to fill for withdrawal check out the link below.
LINK : http://www.epfindia.com/site_en/WhichClaimForm.php


UPDATE
A new process has been introduced (since Dec2015) by which you can directly submit your withdrawal forms to the EPFO office. You don't have to get your employer's verification.

This works only if the following conditions are met :
1) You have your UAN generated.
2) Aadhar and Bank details are submitted as KYC documents and verified by the employer in UAN portal.

The forms are named as Form 19 UAN, Form 10C UAN and Form 31 UAN.





SCENARIOS


       This can be done online at http://memberclaims.epfoservices.in/









TAX DEDUCTED AT SOURCE (TDS)

When you apply for withdrawing from your PF account, there are certain rules to decide how much tax you would have to pay. This tax is deducted at source. The rules are as follows.



QUESTIONS

I hope this answers all your questions. If you have any more questions, I would be more than happy to try and answer them in the comments section.


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18 comments:

  1. Thanks for the information. However is it true that if I submit 15G/15H form then the TDS wont be there. Note: I want to take out my pf amount and have 4 years and 9 months of PF.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tha's right, Anumesh. Once you submit the Form 15G, you won't be taxed.

      Delete
  2. Good one Sagaran.. Very detailed post.. thank you..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Thanks Pavan.
      The website is being overhauled and most of the links here maybe down.
      I guess a new website is in the works. Will post when the new one is up and running.

      Delete
  3. Can you please tell me what is document number since I have forgotten my password with mobile number changed but can get through this document number your prompt response would be appreciated

    ReplyDelete
  4. IS there any update on the above post as on October 2017 ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, yes! The website and processes have changed a lot.
      I'll be updating the same soon!

      Delete
  5. Hello,

    Kindly let me know whether I have to go for online PF claim or manually going to submit form to PF office

    I have completed 10 years of service in IT and I am jobless since 03 months. So I want to withdraw my PF now. I have 3 employers. At the time of 1st employer there was no UAN in India at all. At the time of 2nd employer I got the UAN and my pf account linked to UAN with 2nd employer. When I was at 3rd employer I had transferred PF amount from Employer 1 and Employer 2 as both employer had digital signature. I have done transfer online without visiting to employer 1 and Employer 2. Now I tried to merge PF accounts to UAN. PF account for employer 2 and employer 3 I can and I am getting OTP. I cannot merge PF of employer 1 with UAN because there was no UAN with anyone in that time. How can I go for online withdrawl. Please let me know

    ReplyDelete
  6. Following links are not working in above post:-
    LINK : http://search.epfoservices.in/est_search.php

    LINK : http://www.epfindia.com/site_en/KYEPFB.php

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have a PF account which was continued without my permission or knowledge by my newly joined office.

    Detailed Scenario - I use to work at a company. I left that company 2 years back and now I have joined a new company and I did not provide them(new company) with my old pf details they were somehow able to add their member id to my old pf account.

    For the above mention reason, I am now unable to withdraw the money which was deposited by my old company through the online portal.

    Please help, if there is a way I can withdraw the amount? and also, Can they continue old pf account with the employee's permission?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dear Sir

    the date of Joining EPF is reflecting the current company joining date.
    instead of my earlier company joining date

    How do i get this updated on the system

    Thanks
    PN

    ReplyDelete
  9. i have an old Pf account number (for year 2014) and the pf account number pattern is in parts and not 4 parts . also its not linked to my current/ existing UAN number.

    my question is how can i merge my old pf account number to existing pf account or UAN?

    ReplyDelete
  10. How can we get PF Statement online for year 2005?

    ReplyDelete
  11. How to add old PF number (Eg KN/xxxxx/xxxxx) in current UAN number? I want to check if my previous 3 organisations PF balance was transferred or not? Current UAN passbook is showing from current company joining date only.

    ReplyDelete
  12. i left my first job in 2008 and did not initiate transfer or withdrawal of PF money, at that time no concept of UAN. Now i got my UAN. Can you help me with the process to transfer my old PF money or how to link the PF account to my UAN

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi,

    I have an old PF account and the amount is transferred to another PF account. By that time, I don't have a UAN account. Now that I have it, I want to link that old PF account to UAN. Is it possible?

    ReplyDelete
  14. If an employee submits Form 11 falsely claiming that he had not been enrolled for PF in the past (when he was), and the new employer does not enroll the employee for PF, will there be any consequences for the employer or the employee?

    ReplyDelete
  15. If I opt out of EPF, what happens to the Employer's contribution to EPF? Do I get that as well in my monthly pay slip?

    ReplyDelete

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