PF (Provident Fund)

You can check your PF balance in a number of ways, as mentioned below-
 

• EPFO portal: You can check your PF balance from your EPF e-passbook available on EPFO portal. You can login to the portal with your UAN.
• UMANG App: You can also check your PF balance using the UMANG (Unified Mobile APP for New Governance) app. You can receive a link to download the app by giving a missed call to 9718397183. You can also download it from UMANG website or the app stores.
• Missed call service: Members registered on the UAN portal can give a missed call to 011-22901406 from their registered mobile number. If your UAN is linked with your bank account number, PAN number or Aadhaar number, you will receive an SMS with the details of your last EPF contribution and PF Balance.
• SMS service of EPFO: Members with activated UAN can also send an SMS with the text EPFOHO UAN ENG (ENG: your preferred language) to 7738299899 from their registered mobile number. This facility is available in 10 regional languages.

You can get your UAN from your employer. Most companies print UAN number on the payslips. However, if your employer has not yet shared your UAN number with you, you can find it by following these steps:

• Go to the EPFO’s Unified Member Portal and select ‘Know Your UAN’ status option.
• You will be given three options to retrieve your UAN. You can find UAN with your PF member ID, Aadhaar number, or PAN number. Select any one of these three options.
• You will be now redirected to another page wherein you have to enter your personal details such as name, mobile number, date of birth, email id, etc.
• Once you submit these details, you will receive an authorization pin on your registered mobile number.
• Upon entering this pin, your UAN will be sent to your registered mobile number and email id.

All employees and workers earning less than Rs. 15,000 per month are eligible to receive the provident fund. Employees earning more than this are not eligible, but it is up to the discretion of the employer. All business entities with more than 20 employees are mandated to be members of the EPFO.

Provident Fund is a superannuation fund for all employees in India. All companies under organised or unorganised sectors with more than 20 employees are mandated to be registered under the administrative entity - Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). Both the employee and the employer are required to contribute to this fund until the employee is working with the company. Here’s how you can benefit with Provident Fund:

• Build a corpus – The regular deduction of EPF contribution goes into your PF amount, which enables you to build a corpus over time.
• Greater returns – The Government of India through the EPFO pays interest on the accumulated EPF corpus based on the prevailing interest rates in the economy. The interest rate is subject to review and revision each quarter under the Small Savings Act. According to experts, your EPF account continues to earn interest even if it has been lying dormant for more than 3 years.
• Tax benefits – The employee’s contribution towards an EPF account is eligible for tax exemption under Section 80C, which also makes your earned interest exempt from tax.
• Insurance benefits – With EPF, you can reap the benefits of Employees Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) Scheme, which is an insurance cover provided by the EPFO. Under this scheme, the registered nominee can receive a lumpsum amount in the event of the death of the person insured, during the period of service.
• Premature withdrawal – The EPFO enables you to make partial withdrawals after 5-10 years of service, for meeting urgent requirements.

The Provident Fund amount accumulates during your working life, thereby enabling you to ensure a comfortable retirement. Here’s how you can get the maximum PF amount:

• PF will keep accumulating over time, if you choose not to withdraw it throughout your working life. This way, you can be assured of maximum PF amount, which can be used during your retirement.
• You can withdraw the maximum amount of 90% of the total corpus, if you choose to withdraw the corpus 1 year before your retirement.
• The event of loss of job has also been considered in the latest EPF withdrawal rules. According to these rules, 75% of the accumulated EPF corpus can be withdrawn 1 month after leaving the job. The remaining 25% can be withdrawn after 2 months of unemployment.
• There are other options for partial withdrawal after a minimum of five to seven years of service. Such withdrawals can be on account of medical emergencies, house renovation, wedding, and home loan repayment. Each of them has a set of rules to be followed.