Can I Withdraw My PF Before Retirement?

Employees' Provident Fund, or EPF, is essentially a government programme that was implemented with the goal of encouraging saving among the working population. As a reward for their effort and commitment to their careers, the EPF seeks to create a retirement corpus for each employee.

While employees are only permitted to take this sum at retirement, they are still permitted to withdraw a portion of their EPF corpus in the event of an emergency, provided certain requirements are met. To know more about withdrawing PF before retirement, read on.

What Are The Withdrawal Conditions Under EPF Before Retirement?

Following are the withdrawal conditions under EPF before retirement -

1. Only when the employee retires is the complete corpus accrued in the EPF account eligible for withdrawal.
2. EPFO does not contemplate early retirement till the employee becomes 55 years old.
3. Exclusively, under the following pressing circumstances can employees take a portion of their EPF -

• Health emergency
• Acquisition of a first residence in the employee's name
• Higher education for the worker or his/her offspring

How Can An Individual Withdraw EPF?

An individual can opt for one of the either process, i.e., online or offline. And following are both of the processes -

Online Procedure Of Withdrawing EPF

Make sure your UAN is active and connected to your KYC before continuing with the EPF withdrawal process.

Once this is confirmed, an individual must take the following actions to withdraw your EPF online 

1. Utilise your login information to access the UAN member portal.
2. To access online services, select it using the top menu bar.
3. Pick the "Claim" option from the drop-down menu (Form-31, 19 & 10C)
4. All of the member information will be shown on the next screen.
5. The last four characters of your bank account number must be entered on this screen before selecting "Verify."
6. Selecting "Yes" to sign the Certificate of Undertaking and continuing the process
7. You must now choose the "PF Advance (Form 31)" option in order to withdraw your money online.
8. You will then be prompted to choose the "Purpose for which withdrawal advance is necessary" in a new part of the form that will open.
9. You will be required to provide the withdrawal amount and employee address in the same part of the form.
10. Once you have finished filling out the application for your EPF withdrawal, make sure to verify the certification.
11. You should be aware that based on the reason for your withdrawal, you could also be required to supply some scanned papers.
12. You must speak with your employer after completing all the necessary steps for them to authorise your request to withdraw EPF.

Also, please be aware that EPFO will SMS your registered phone number with information about your withdrawal request. Your bank account will be credited with the specified sum as soon as your claim is processed. The process of getting the money credited to an employee's account typically takes 15 to 20 working days.

Offline Procedure Of Withdrawing EPF

You may always opt to withdraw your EPF via offline methods if you don't feel very comfortable utilising the internet or online portals. To submit a properly completed Composite Claim Form, all you have to do is go to the appropriate EPFO.

The fact that there are really two different sorts of Composite Claim Forms. One that uses Aadhaar and the other that does not. When submitting the form to the jurisdictional EPFO office, the latter needs your employer to certify the form, whilst the former does not.

What Are EPF Eligibility Conditions for withdrawals?

Following are some listed EPF eligibility for withdrawals -

1. Only when the employee retires is the complete corpus accrued in the EPF account eligible for withdrawal (early retirement is possible only after 55 years of age)
2. 90% of an employee's EPF balance can be withdrawn before one year after retirement.

Endnotes

A portion of the collected corpus may be withdrawn by the member prior to the actual due date, even though the main goal of money accumulation in an EPF account is to construct a corpus for the member's retirement.

Also read: Are VPF Tax Free?

What Is The Role Of PFRDA In Determining Retirement Plans?