The Provident Fund (PF) accumulated under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is primarily designed to financially secure the post-retirement life of employees. However, keeping in mind the sudden financial needs and big expenses in life, EPFO provides financial assistance to its subscribers during their employment period. PF Advance (Non-Refundable Advance) Provides removal facility.
Often there is doubt in the minds of employees as to when, for what reason and how often they can withdraw money from their account. Under the provisions of the EPF scheme, withdrawal limits, required service period and frequency of withdrawal have been fixed for different purposes like marriage, illness, higher education of children, buying a new house or repaying a home loan.
The major rules laid down by EPFO for various mandatory requirements are as follows:
| Purpose of Withdrawal | Minimum Service Tenure | Maximum Withdrawal Limit | How many times can it be withdrawn? (Frequency) |
| Illness/Medical Emergency | No minimum service condition (0 years) | 6 months basic + DA, or employee share including interest (whichever is lower) / up to ₹1-5 lakh in auto-mode | As many times as needed (in cases of severe illness) |
| Marriage (Self, Children, Brother/Sister) | 7 years total service | 50% of total employee contribution (Employee Share) including interest | Maximum 3 to 5 times during entire service period |
| Higher Education (Post-Matriculation Education) | 7 years total service | 50% of total employee contribution including interest | For higher education in a phased manner (from 3 to 10 times) |
| Buying or constructing a house/plot (Housing) | 5 years of service (3 years in housing scheme) | 24 to 36 months Basic + DA or up to 90% of PF balance | Only once during the entire service period (for purchase of plot/house) |
| Home repair/renovation | 5 years after construction | Up to 12 times monthly basic salary | Maximum 1 to 2 times during service period |
| Home Loan Prepayment/Repayment | 3 years service | Up to 90% of total PF corpus (employee + employer share) | Only once during service |
If the employee, his/her spouse, children or dependent parents suffer from a serious illness or have to be hospitalised, there is no requirement of any minimum period of service.
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EPFO for medical claims Auto-Mode Settlement Has also launched the facility of Eligible Claims, under which eligible claims are settled directly into the bank account within 3 to 4 working days without human intervention.
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Under this, the employee can withdraw an amount equal to his shares and interest or equal to 6 months’ basic salary and dearness allowance.
Strict rules apply when withdrawing funds for marriage in the family or for children’s education after 10th (Engineering, Medical, MBA etc.):
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employee at least 7 years of continuous service It is necessary to complete.
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Withdrawal will be made only of the employee’s own contribution and the interest received thereon. 50% share (Employer’s share cannot be deducted under this head).
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This claim for marriage can be made for one’s own marriage, son/daughter’s marriage or real brother/sister’s marriage.
EPFO gives the biggest discount for buying a house or flat:
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On completion of 5 years of service (3 years under Special Housing Clause 68BD) the member can withdraw his total fund up to 90% Can take out.
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It is mandatory for the property to be registered in the name of the employee, in the name of the spouse or in the joint name of both.
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This benefit is available only once for purchase or construction of a house.
There is no need to visit offices to withdraw advance from PF, this entire process is online:
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step 1: Log in to the EPFO Member e-Seva portal (unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in) by entering your UAN and password.
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Step 2: Make sure that your Aadhaar, PAN card and bank account details (KYC) are fully verified and active.
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Step 3: Go to ‘Online Services’ in the main menu and ‘Claim (Form-31, 19, 10C & 10D)’ Select option.
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Step 4: Enter your bank account number, ‘Verify’ and click on ‘Proceed for Online Claim’.
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Step 5: By going to ‘I want to apply for’ dropdown PF Advance (Form 31) Select.
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Step 6: Select the purpose for which money is required (sickness, marriage, education, housing), enter the required amount and upload a clear copy of chequebook/passbook.
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Step 7: Submit the claim by entering the OTP received on the mobile number linked to Aadhaar.
PF advance is a non-refundable withdrawal, that is, it does not need to be deposited in the account again. However, financial advisors always suggest that unless there is a major emergency, one should avoid unnecessary withdrawals from the PF fund, so that the 8.25% compound interest earned on retirement is not lost.