Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is a long-term financial investment instrument for employees. In the private sector, though, people change jobs, so a new PF account is created each time they join a company, requiring them to transfer the money from the old PF account to the new one.
For the ease of the employees, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) provides the facility of online account transfer through its unified portal. You can complete the task by uploading the necessary documents and following a few simple steps on the portal.
Benefits
Why one should transfer the PF amount instead of withdrawing it?
Compounding On A Higher Amount:
One gets a compounding benefit on saving in EPF. When the amount is transferred from the old account to the new account, the higher amount of funds in the PPF account would mean higher benefits of compounding.
No TDS For More Than Five Years Of Investment:
When the fund is withdrawn before five years, it is liable for tax deducted at source (TDS), but if the account is maintained for five years or more, this becomes tax-free. It means there is no TDS applicable on withdrawals if done after five years.
Pension Eligibility After Continued Membership Of 10 Years:
When the EPF account is maintained for ten years or more, the member becomes eligible to receive a retirement pension.
How To Transfer PF Online:
Earlier, it was a time-consuming manual process to transfer the old PF account to a new PF account. To simplify this process of transferring PF accounts, in 2014, EPFO introduced Universal Account Number (UAN), a single account number for a member where one can find all details linked to previous PF accounts with different employers in one place. If your UAN number is linked and verified with your Adhaar card, you can transfer the old PF account yourself online. This unique 12-digit number remains the same for members for life.
Process Of EPF Account Transfer:
You need to log in to the unified portal for members, apply for EPF transfer requests in the online services option, and verify your personal information and employment details.
Next, choose either the previous or present employer to verify the claim form. Remember that the employer should have registered digital signatures of authorised signatories with the EPFO on its portal.
After submitting the details, take a printout of Form 13 and get it signed by the employer within 10 days. Your employer will review and, after approving the claim, will send your form to EPFO to transfer the PF account. EPFO, at its end, will verify all the details and transfer the account.
It is important to note that your exit date is indicated in your old PF account, and the date of joining the new organisation is at least one day after it. Employers do this, but if missed, you can do it yourself after two months of leaving the job.
In this case, an online transfer of account is not possible. And you need to complete the physical form – Form 13 - and get it verified by the previous or present employer. Then, submit the verified form to the EPF office.
EPFO will verify the details, and once done, ‘Annexure K’ is issued, and your old account will be added. The member can check the details of all their PF accounts and passbook by login in with their UAN in the unified portal.
