Need of money? Here's how you can withdraw amount from your PF

Labour Ministry has been taking steps from the beginning of the year to make withdrawal of Employee Provident Fund (EPF) as simpler as possible. 

For the current financial year, the retirement fund body Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will soon be announcing the interest rate on Provident Fund deposits.

The EPFO had lowered the rate of return for its over 4.5 crore subscribers to 8.65% for 2016-17, from 8.8% in 2015-16. 

Labour Minister Bandaru Dattreya on July 6 had said, "Last time, I gave 8.65% and this year, our rate of return has come 13.3% on equity investments. The CBT will propose a rate of interest based on income projection for this fiscal. Then, as its chairman, we will take the decision." 

Now, the question is how to withdraw PF amount? 

A PF provides financial security for salaried employees after retirement. And, checking on EPF can give you valuable insights into the status of your PF account especially for instances when you wish to partially withdraw your PF amount or in case you wish to avail a loan against your EPF.

Generally, withdrawing PF at early years of service is not advisable by experts simply because it is a corpus that you gradually build so as to ensure enough money on retirement. 

But, if you still want to withdraw the amount, then Form 19 is for you. 

Form 19 which is available either with employers or can be downloaded from EPFI website, is to be filled and submitted for withdrawing the PF amount. Once the application is submitted to the regional EPF Office, the PF amount along with the interest earned is received by the applicant within three months from the date of application.

According to BankBazaar, there are three ways in which you can easily withdraw your PF sum:

1. Apply for PF amount withdrawal via UAN that is Universal Account Number: If you have UAN then you can directly apply for pf withdrawal. You do not require your previous employer’s approval for getting this application processed. However, the only challenge with this option is that most employers do not share the UAN with employees and in the absence of UAN this option cannot be availed.

2. Submit your PF withdrawal application directly to the regional PF Office: Get a PF withdrawal form, fill it and submit the same directly to the regional Provident Fund Office. This procedure requires identity attestation since the PF office would want to be sure whether the right person is applying for withdrawal. Hence, your withdrawal form needs to be attested by one of the following listed authorities –

• Any Bank Manager
• A Gazetted Officer

3. Magistrate/ Post/ Sub Post Master/ President of Village Panchayat/ Notary Public
Attestation by Bank Manager is best when the bank is where you maintain your account. Since this direct method of application has chances of fraud so EPF office generally asks for a letter stating the reason for direct application. Non-cooperation from employer is a valid reason but only if you have a proof for that. Also, attaching a proof of employment letter is a plus.

Where PF can be used?

Labour Ministry has said that an individual can now use their Employee Provident Fund (EPF) account money to finance their home buy. 

EPFO subscribers can now be able to withdraw 90% of the EPF amount for the down payment and pay EMIs of their home loan through the account. 

According to a PTI report, the retirement fund has amended this new scheme by inserting a new paragraph -- 68 BD -- to the Employees' Provident Funds (EPF) Scheme, 1952.

The section 68BD will come as sub-section under 68B. The 68B talks about the withdrawal  from the Fund for the purchase of a dwelling house/flat or for the construction of a dwelling house including the acquisition of a suitable site for the purpose. 

Moreover, to withdraw the amount subscribers need not have to provide Aadhaar details. The members with less than 10 years of service can submit a full and final settlement claim through Form 10C to withdraw the amount accumulated in their pension account.

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