Business News Desk, Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is a scheme to improve the financial future of private sector employees. In this retirement plan, both the company and the employee contribute equal amount to PF (Provident Fund). At the same time, annual interest is also received on the deposited amount. Since this amount is for retirement, it can be withdrawn only after retirement. But, sometimes PF money is needed in an emergency. There are some rules for withdrawing money from PF, only by following which you can withdraw money from your account. Let us know about those rules in detail.
When can you withdraw PF money?
The Employees Provident Fund Organization allows withdrawal of money from the PF account before retirement only in certain circumstances. Such as medical emergency, marriage or buying land. If someone loses his job, he can withdraw the entire amount of PF after two months. There is also a rule to withdraw money from PF for the marriage of a special family member or for the education of children. However, for this you have to work for at least seven years. After this you can withdraw up to 50 percent of your contribution.
How many times can I withdraw money?
You can withdraw money from your PF account many times before retirement. But, you will have to give the reason for it every time. Money cannot be withdrawn more than three times for marriage. The same is the case for studies after 10th. Money can be withdrawn only once to buy a house or land. However, there is no such restriction in case of medical emergency. For this, you can withdraw money any number of times before retirement.
How much tax is levied on withdrawal of money?
If you withdraw EPF before 5 years of continuous service, TDS will be deducted at the rate of 10%. If you do not provide PAN card while withdrawing the amount, then the TDS rate will be 30%. But, no tax is to be paid after 5 years of continuous service. Even if an employee transfers his EPF amount to the National Pension Scheme, no tax is levied on it.
How to withdraw PF money online?
To withdraw money online from EPF, your UAN must be active and linked with KYC (Aadhaar, PAN and bank account). Then you have to follow the steps given below.
-Log in to the UAN Member Portal with your UAN and password.
-Click on the ‘Online Services’ tab from the top menu bar. Select ‘Claim (Form-31, 19 & 10C)’ from the drop-down menu.
-Your details will appear on the screen. Enter the last 4 digits of your bank account and click on ‘Verify’.
-Click on ‘Yes’ to sign the Undertaking Certificate and proceed.
-Click on ‘Proceed for Online Claim’ option.
-Select ‘PF Advance (Form 31)’ to withdraw your funds online.
-A new section of the form will open. In this, you will have to select the ‘purpose for which the advance is required’, the required amount and the address of the employee. The work for which the employee cannot withdraw money will be mentioned in red.
Tick on verification and submit your application
-Depending on the work for which you have filled the form, you may have to submit scanned documents.
-Money will be withdrawn from your EPF account only when your company accepts your withdrawal request.
The amount will then be credited to your bank account mentioned in the withdrawal form.
You will receive an SMS on your phone number registered with EPFO. Once the claim is processed, the amount will be transferred to your bank account. EPFO has not set any time limit for this, but usually the money gets credited within 15-20 days.
