Provident fund withdrawal: Avoid these 5 mistakes while taking out EPFO PF money

Mostly, a salaried person contributes around 10% of salary every month to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF). EPF is a saving scheme that is introduced by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The EPF is also referred to as Provident Fund (PF), which is a government-backed scheme where the deduction is compulsory for salaried individuals. The employer and the employee contribute 10 per cent of the employee's basic salary each month to the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

In March 2020, the government announced that a person can withdraw a part of the amount from its EPF account. A person can obtain an advance from its EPF balance up to three months of basic salary plus dearness allowance, or 75 per cent of the balance standing in its account, whichever is less. This advance is non-refundable and the person will not have to deposit the withdrawn money back into its EPF account.

If you also want to claim your PF then these 5 mistakes have to be avoided:

Seed Bank Account with UAN: With the UAN (Universal Account Number) the bank account number should be seeded. You may face difficulties if your account is not seeded. Also, the IFSC number provided in the records of EPFO ​​should also be accurate.

Incomplete KYC: Your request may be rejected if your KYC is incomplete. Your KYC information should be verified. By logging into your member e-service account, you may check whether your KYC is completed and verified.

Incorrect Date of Birth (DoB): If the date of birth (DoB) recorded in EPFO ​​ doesn’t match with the date of birth recorded in the employer's record your application can be rejected. On April 3, EPFO issued a circular, relaxing the criteria for correcting the date of birth recorded in the records of EPFO ​​and linking UAN with Aadhaar. For the next three years, the birth date can be changed. 

Link UAN-Aadhaar: UAN should be linked with Aadhaar. If UAN and Aadhaar are not linked, the EPF withdrawal claim may get denied. In four ways UAN or EPF account can be linked with Aadhaar. You can also link it through an online facility.  

Incorrect Bank Account Details: The PF claim money will be credited to the same account, which will be documented in EPFO records. While claiming, account details must be filled up carefully. If you submit the incorrect account number or any other account number then your application will be rejected.