Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is an important retirement savings scheme for Indian salaried employees. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), however, under some conditions, permits partial withdrawal of EPF accumulations by the account holders in order to address their urgent financial requirements. These are medical bills due to emergencies, housing purchase, education, marriage, and even unemployment.
Eligibility criteria for EPF advance
The member will have to fulfil conditions depending on the cause of withdrawal to be eligible for a partial withdrawal. For medical emergencies, there is no service required, and in housing withdrawals, the member must have served for years or more. There are pre-determined withdrawal amounts for each category and may entail documentary evidence depending on the nature of the claim.
Get your KYC details updated
For those whose Aadhaar, PAN, and bank account number are mapped to their Universal Account Number (UAN), the claim process is done online without uploading additional documents. It is preferable to update your Know Your Customer (KYC) information on the EPFO website prior to filling out the form.
How to apply for partial EPF withdrawal online
To start the process, visit the EPFO Member e-Sewa portal at https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in. Log in using your UAN, password, and CAPTCHA code. Upon logging in, check that your KYC details—especially Aadhaar, PAN, and bank account details—are updated and accurate. They are needed for sanctioning of claims and for transferring funds.
Once you have confirmed that your details are correct, go ahead and select the 'Online Services' option and select the one that has the option specified 'Claim (Form-31, 19, 10C)'. You will be required to enter the last four digits of your bank account number for verification. Once verification has been done by the system, select 'Proceed for Online Claim'. You will be redirected to a new page where you can select the form of verification of withdrawal. Click on 'PF Advance (Form 31)' to make the request for a partial withdrawal.
Then, you have to choose the purpose of the advance from provided options like illness, education, marriage, repayment of home loan, or natural calamity. Type the amount you want to withdraw and fill in your address details. After filling, accept the declaration and submit your claim.
How long will you get the money?
Provided everything goes right and your KYC has been done, the claim will, as a matter of course, be settled between 7 to 10 working days, and the sanctioned amount will be transferred to your directly connected bank account.
Spend EPF savings wisely
Partial withdrawal of EPF is a good facility for those members with urgent requirements of money. But since EPF is a retirement corpus with a long-term objective, it's best availed only in the case of actual requirements. Right decisions and verifications that all documents and KYC details are updated can get the process done promptly without issues.
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