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For employed employees, Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is not only a support for retirement but also the biggest source of financial security in case of emergency needs like medical emergency, higher education of children, marriage or house construction. Under the online system, online claim for PF advance or final withdrawal can now be submitted through EPFO’s Unified Member Portal in a few minutes sitting at home.
Despite the simple process, according to EPFO data, lakhs of claims are rejected every month only due to small technical and paperwork errors. When a claim is rejected, not only is time wasted, but one also has to face mental stress due to lack of money during emergencies. If you are also planning to do PF withdrawal, then before submitting the form, it is mandatory to check these 6 important things in your account.
The first and most basic condition for filing a claim online is that your 12 digit Universal Account Number (UAN) should be activated. If UAN is not activated, it will not be possible to login to the Member Services Portal.
Along with this, ensure that the mobile number entered on your UAN portal is the same which is linked with your Aadhaar card. EPFO sends Aadhaar OTP (One-Time Password) to the registered mobile number while submitting the claim. If your old mobile number is switched off or the number linked to Aadhaar is different, you will not be able to complete the final authentication and the claim process will get stopped midway.
For PF withdrawal, it is mandatory for Aadhaar and PAN card to be entered 100% correctly in EPFO records.
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Aadhaar Seeding: Your Aadhaar number should be linked to UAN as well as appear ‘verified’ by UIDAI. There should not be a difference of even one letter between Aadhaar and EPFO records in name, date of birth and gender.
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PAN Linking: If your total service period is less than 5 years and withdrawal amount is more than ₹50,000, tax may be deducted at the highest rate (TDS) of 30% if PAN card is not linked. When PAN is linked and verified, this TDS rate reduces to 10%.
Most claim rejections are due to bank account errors. Before filling the claim form, go to the profile section and check the bank details carefully:
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The bank account should be in your own name only (Joint account is valid only if you have it with your spouse).
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The IFSC code of the bank should be latest. After the merger of many nationalized banks, old IFSC codes have become invalid. If the old IFSC is still registered in your account, immediately update it as per your existing bank branch.
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The photocopy of the check or bank passbook that is being uploaded along with the claim form, your name, account number and IFSC code should be absolutely clear and readable. If blurry or distorted images are uploaded, the field officer immediately rejects the claim.
If you want to withdraw the entire amount of PF (Form 19) and Pension Fund (Form 10C) after leaving the job, then it is mandatory to enter the date of exit (DoE) of your job on the EPFO portal.
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If the employer has not marked the date of exit even after two months of leaving the company, then you can enter the date of your last working day yourself by going to the ‘Manage’ tab of the Member Service Portal and using the ‘Mark Exit’ option.
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If you have worked in many companies before, then make sure to get the PF balance of all the previous companies transferred online to the existing UAN (One Member – One EPF Account). If the final claim is filed without transfer, the money of the previous companies may get stuck.
While withdrawing money from PF, it is very important to choose the right claim form based on your need and situation:
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Form 31 (PF Advance): For partial withdrawal while in employment for emergency, illness, house construction, children’s marriage or education.
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Form 19 (PF Final Settlement): To withdraw complete PF funds after 2 months of leaving the job.
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Form 10C (EPS Pension Withdrawal): To withdraw pension fund money if the total service period is less than 10 years.
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Form 10D: To start receiving monthly pension on completion of 10 years or more of service and attaining the age of 58 years.
While withdrawing advance while in employment, choose the reason for advance carefully. For example, claims under illness or natural calamity get the money sanctioned faster without any restriction on service period, whereas for housing or marriage, a minimum of 5 to 7 years of continuous service is mandatory.
If you are withdrawing more than ₹50,000 before completion of 5 years of continuous service and your total annual taxable income is less than the basic exemption limit, while filing online claim to avoid TDS deduction Form 15G (for general citizens) or Form 15H (For senior citizens above 60 years) fill it and upload it in PDF format.
If you forget to upload this form, EPFO will deduct 10% TDS as per rules and transfer the remaining amount to your account, which can be refunded only by filing Income Tax Return (ITR).