All You need to know about non-accreditation of EPF

There are certain times when the EPF due is not credited in the subscriber’s account even after the advance of the online EPF claim settlement process. Then it becomes essential to check the EPF status online, and to do that one must have the following information:

   • EPF Account Number

   • EPF Regional office of your employer

   • Establishment of Company code and extension code.

Once this information is acquired, you can check the status either through the EPFO website or the UAN website.

It is important to understand that claims take a while to process. It usually takes 2-15 days for a claim to get processed online, and the same takes 20-30 working days if applied offline. If the claim has not been accepted even after the current wait period, then the following steps can be taken

   • Checking NEFT schedule. The payment will not work during bank holidays, you can check the credit the next day.

   • Cross check the bank details updated with the UAN number. If the details updated are incorrect in nature, the banks will return the amount to the EPFO in 4-5 days. It is advised to change your details immediately.

   • Get in touch with the EPFO grievance cell online. You can use this site if you have a UAN number, as well as track your complaint. The time taken for grievance redressal is 30 days.

   • EPFO social media sites such as twitter.com/socialepfo and facebook.com/socialepfo  if it still hasn't been rectified.

   • Another option would be to directly visit the EPFO regional office and talk directly to the authorities. You can find the required EPFO official by visiting the online site.

Why should you withdraw your EPF?

EmployeeProvident Fund, or more commonly known as EPF serves as a tax saving tool for salaried employees. The EPF also comes with the presence of a pension in the EPS section of the EPFO that additionally helps in the case of retirement wherein you get monthly pensions due to the service.

EPF usually has a lot of benefits for the individual and can substantially be transferred or withdrawn. Some might argue that transferring is the right way to go in case of a company change, however, withdrawal of the EPF is deemed favorable in some cases also.

If you wish to start your own business or decide to be unemployed for a certain time period, or simply move to a smaller firm, then the EPF is considered inactive. An EPF is only active as long as your company is a member of EPFO, or if you keep working in a company that is a part of EPFO. As soon as you are unemployed, you become inactive and the EPF interests turn taxable. If the same circumstances sustain, then the EPF also stops earning interest. 

The money is retained in your account but slowly starts losing value owing to the inflated rates of interest. Hence, the best option is to withdraw your amount if such is the situation.

Also Read-  What is EPF? How To Withdraw EPF Online

What is EPF? How To Withdraw EPF Online

EPF is an abbreviation for Employee Provident Fund and is widely recognized as a retirement benefits scheme, available to all salaried individuals. Most think instead of EPF being retained continuously, it could just be paid to the individuals as the time comes every month. However, EPF India certainly has numerous advantages.

The tax-free interest and maturity ensure that the growth of your money is in good hands. Apart from that, it includes retirement pensions that you become immediately eligible for. This happens as there are two major components of EPFO namely Employee Provident Fund which is the subscriber's share of basic pay at 12% and Employer’s share as well as EPS or Employees Pension Scheme wherein the Employer’s contribution is taken into account.

Apart from tax benefits to the subscriber, EPF also aids in Life Insurance covers, as well as Pension allotment. The employee starts receiving the pension after a minimum of ten years of service and reaching the age of 50 to 58 years. The amount due is paid each month to the employee and in case of death of the subscriber, it is paid to the nominee. Nominations for EPF include parents, spouses and/or children, however, siblings are not considered, as of now. 

One can always top up on an EPF, called the VPF or Voluntary Provident Fund, where they can invest more than 12% of their due. The additional amount is then invested in EPF and also eligible for tax benefits.             

Also Read- FEW BENEFITS OF EPF INTEREST RATES HIKED

How To Withdraw Online EPF

EPFO has launched an online facility using which a PF subscriber can easily withdraw their PF amount sitting at home. To avail this facility, the EPF subscribers need to fulfill certain requirements. Here are these requirements:

1) The member should have active Universal Account Number (UAN) and mobile number  

2) The Aadhaar details of the member should be seeded with the database of the EPFO and he should also have the access to OTP-based facility for verifying eKYC from UIDAI  

3) In the case your employment is of less than 5 years, then your PAN document should also be necessarily seeded in the database of the EPFO  

Steps for online claim submission:

1) Log in by visiting the official website of EPFO by entering your valid UAN and password 

2) Go to ‘Manage Tab’ option and select ‘KYC’ to check various details like Aadhaar, PAN and bank account details  

3) After checking and verifying all the details, go to the ‘Online Services’ tab and select 'Claim' from the dropdown menu  

4) You will find all your member details, KYC details and service details on the ‘Claim’ screen. Below that, you will find a tab stating 'Proceed For Online Claim'. Click on that tab to submit your claim form  

5) Then you have to select the kind of claim you want to submit like PF withdrawal, PF advance or Pension withdrawal, under the 'I Want To Apply For' tab  

6) After you select your relevant claim, a detailed form will be displayed. You just have to fill that form and authenticate using Aadhaar OTP  

7) After your online claim submission, you can now check the status of your claim by selecting the 'Track Claim Status' tab, under the 'Online Services' menu     

For More- https://www.epfindia.gov.in/        

5 hidden EPF Rules which will blow your mind

Most people know just one or two things about EPF that it is a retirement fund and 12% of your basic salary is deducted and invested in it along with the employer contribution of 12% of employee’s basic salary. But there are various other things too that you should know about EPF. Here listed are 5 hidden rules of EPF:

1. Nominate someone for your EPF account: You can nominate someone for your EPF account who will receive the money in case any misfortune happens with you. In case of no nominee, there can be all sorts of issues regarding the claim of money in your EPF account.

2. Voluntarily Provident Fund: You can choose to invest more than 12% in your EPF account. However, the employer is not bound to match your contribution.

3. Opt-Out: if your basic salary is more than Rs. 15,000 then you have the option of opting out from EPF as well. Although if you have been part of EPF before than you do not have the option of opting-out.

4. Withdraw from EPF on a special occasion: Partial withdrawal from EPF account is allowed under certain circumstances like the marriage of siblings/self/children, medical treatment of self/family, repay housing loan, etc.

5. File RTI for EPF issues: You can even file RTI for obtaining any information regarding your EPF or in case of facing any issues like no action on your EPF withdrawal application, lack of clarity on your EPF balance, etc.          

Also Read- Few Rules To Calculate Employee & Employer’s Contribution For ESI and PF Deduction

EPF vs PPF: 5 key things you should know before investing

EPF and PPF are one of the most popular choices among individuals when it comes to retirement planning. Investment in these particular schemes helps one to save a lump sum amount so that it can be used later on at the time of financial crunch.

1) Definition PPF is a statutory scheme launched by the central government with an objective of providing old age income security to individuals. On the other hand, EPF is a retirement benefit which is applicable only for salaried employees. It is basically a fund where both the employer and employee contribute 12% of employee’s salary.

2) Return on investment The rate of return in case of PPF accounts is 8.00% per annum while EPF accounts yield a return of 8.65% annually.

3) Lock-in period EPF has a lock-in period of 5 years. You can withdraw the maturity amount either on or after your retirement at the age of 55. In case of PPF, there is a lock-in period of 15 years.

4) Investment tenure In the case of EPF, the amount is paid at the time when you resign or retire, whichever occurs earlier which upon job change is transferred from the old company to a new one. In case of PPF, the amount can be withdrawn on maturity only, after 15 years.

5) Tax Benefit In case of PPF, the contribution is income tax slabs deductible under Sec 80C, the maturity amount is also tax-free.

In the case of EPF, the contribution is tax deductible. Maturity amount is tax-free only on completion of 5 years.