The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is a lifetime endowment that helps in important life stages. It consists of 12% of the employee’s monthly basic salary, which is deposited in an Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). Employers also donate a share to this fund, which grows to size over time.
Employees can easily obtain PK online. This can be easily done through EPFO’s e-SEW member portal. After leaving the company, the employee can withdraw all assets from the PF. However, even before retirement, you can withdraw some amounts if you meet certain criteria.

It is important to complete the KYC formalities before withdrawing provident fund.

Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is a lifetime deposit which comes in handy during crucial phases of one’s life. It consists of 12 per cent of an employee’s monthly basic salary, which is deposited with the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The employer also contributes a share in this fund, which becomes a sizeable corpus over a period of time.

Employees can withdraw their PF online quite easily. This can be facilitated through the member e-SEW portal of EPFO.

The employees can withdraw their complete savings in the PF once they retire. However even before retirement, they can withdraw a partial amount if they meet certain criteria.

Contributions and Withdrawals

Each national provident fund sets its own minimum and maximum contribution levels for workers and employers. Minimum contributions can vary depending on a worker’s age. Some funds allow individuals to contribute extra to their benefit accounts, and for employers to also do so, to further benefit their workers.

Governments set the age limit at which penalty-free withdrawals are allowed to begin. Some pre-retirement withdrawals may be allowed under special circumstances, such as medical emergencies. Additionally, in South Africa, provident fund payouts can be claimed at any age if the person has been a non-resident for three years over an uninterrupted period.2 

In many countries, those who work past the minimum retirement age may face restricted withdrawals until full retirement. If a worker dies before receiving benefits, the surviving spouse and children may be able to receive survivors’ benefits.

Provident funds differ from another vehicle sometimes used in the developing world, the sovereign wealth fund, which is funded through royalties obtained from the development of natural resources.

Important Points For Withdraw Provident Fund

It is mandatory to link one’s Aadhar card with the universal account number (UAN) to deposit money to the PF account. This can be one online through the EPFO website or even through the UMANG mobile app.

Completing the “Know Your Customer” or KYC formality is also important before withdrawing PF.

For KYC, PAN card is needed and EPFO after completing the process, gives the PF account a “verified” status.

Important Steps To Withdraw Provident Fund

Visit the UAN portal at https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/

Log in using your UAN and password and enter the captcha for verification.

Now go to the ‘Online Services’ tab and select the option ‘Claim (Form-31, 19 & 10C)’ from the drop-down menu.

On the next screen, enter your bank account number and click on ‘Verify’.

Now click on ‘Yes’ and proceed.

After this, click on ‘Proceed for Online Claim’.

Now in the claim form, select the claim you require under the tab ‘I Want To Apply For’.

Select ‘PF Advance (Form 31)’ to withdraw your fund. Then provide the purpose of such advance, the amount required and the employee’s address.

Now, click on the certificate and submit your application.

You may be asked to submit scanned documents for the purpose you have filled the form.

16 Comments After the employer approves the withdrawal request, you will receive money in your bank account. It usually takes 15-20 days to get the money credited to the bank account.