How to Withdraw PF Online? A Step by Step Guide

A social security and savings scheme launched by the Indian government for the employees of India is the Employees’ Provident Fund. Any employer who has more than 20 employees working for him, needs to get a PF registration and follow the PF guidelines for contribution. The withdrawal of the money contributed to the PF can be performed by the employees for various reasons through the unified portal. In this blog, we will look at the process and documents needed for PF withdrawal online.

Reasons for PF Withdrawal

The PF account holding employees can apply for withdrawal or settlement or advance of the account for any of the following reasons:

• PF settlement
• Pension withdrawal benefits
• PF part withdrawal

Settlement of PF

The employee can apply for the settlement of the PF account for any of the reasons:

• Ill health of the member
• Discontinuation of the business of the employer
• Any cause which can not be controlled by the member
• Marriage of female members
• Permanent abroad settlement

Full PF Withdrawal

It is possible to withdraw the amount from the EPF account either partly or fully. For full PF withdrawal one of the following conditions must be satisfied:

• When the employee is going to retire from employment.
• When the employee has been unemployed for at least 2 months, then the withdrawal of EPF amount can be done fully. For this, the gazetted officer must certify the fact of unemployment.

Partial PF Withdrawal

Under certain circumstances, partial withdrawal of PF can be performed by fulfilling some specific conditions. These are listed below:

Marriage: An employee can withdraw up to 50% of his share of the PF balance for marrying either his son or daughter or siblings or himself, if he has already completed 7 years of his service.

Education: For education of the individual or his children, the employee can withdraw up to 50% of his total PF balance if he has been employed for at least 7 years. The withdrawal can be done only for the expenses of the matriculation education.

Land Purchase or House Construction: EPF withdrawal online can be done for purchasing and or constructing or purchasing a house under the following conditions:

• He should be employed for at least 5 years.
• The land to be purchased or the house to be constructed, needs to be in the name of the employee or his /her spouse or joint name.
• The maximum limit to be withdrawn for purchasing the land is 24 times the monthly wages of the employee.
• The maximum limit to be withdrawn for purchasing or constructing a house is 36 times the monthly wages.
• The property should be disputed and should be properly registered and the proof of registration needs to be submitted as well.

Home Loan Repayment: The PF can be withdrawn to repay an existing home loan under the following terms:

• The employee should have been employed for at least 10 years.
• A withdrawal for such a reason can be done only once in a lifetime.
• If he has already performed a withdrawal for purchasing a land or for purchasing or constructing a house, then the employee can not perform a PF withdrawal online for the repayment of existing home loan.
• The property should be either in the employees’ name or his/her spouse’s name or in joint name.
• Maximum limit for PF withdrawal is 36 times the monthly wages of the employee.
• The EPFO demands a house letter, sanction letter of home loan and other necessary documents as proof.
• The withdrawal can be done from both the employee's or employer’s contribution.

Before Retirement: The age of retirement as per the rules of EPF is 58 years, but as soon as the employee reaches the age of 57 years, he becomes eligible to withdraw 90% of his EPF contribution before attaining the retirement age.

Medical Treatment: PF withdrawal can be performed in case of medical treatment. The conditions for the withdrawal for such a case are listed below:

• Medical treatment for himself or his/her spouse or parents or children.
• When the hospitalisation continues for more than a month.
• For any major surgical operations.
• In case of leprosy or mental derangement or paralysis or cancer.
• For TB ailment or heart related medical conditions and the employee has been granted leave for the treatment by the employer.
• The withdrawal can be done at any point of time and no specific employment period is needed.
• The amount of withdrawal is limited to the amount equivalent to 6 months wages.

Documents needed for PF Withdrawal

The employee needs to submit a PF Withdrawal application along with the required documents to the concerned EPFO Office. These documents are listed below:

• A new declaration form or utilisation certificate is needed to perform PF withdrawal online for purchasing a site or a house or a flat or for construction or for housing loan or for repayment of loan or for renovation of the house.
• No document is required for PF withdrawal due to a lockout or closure of the factory.
• The certificate of the employer and the doctor is needed for PF withdrawal due to Illness of a member or family.
• Marriage card is needed for PF withdrawal due to a marriage of self or son or daughter or brother or sister.
• A medical certificate is needed for PF withdrawal in case of purchase of equipment for an individual who is physically handicapped.
• In case of Investment in the Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana, 90% of the aggregate PF balance can be sent to LIC.

Conclusion

In this blog, we came across PF Withdrawal Online. We learned about the possible reasons for a PF Withdrawal. We came across PF settlement, Full and partial PF withdrawal and the documents which an employee needs in order to perform a PF withdrawal online.