Almost all salaried people contribute a certain percentage of their salary towards their Employee Provident Fund (EPF) account every month. While most of us know that EPF is an effective tool that helps generate a corpus for life post retirement, many of us are unaware that you can make a withdrawal from your EPF account for urgent cash requirements.
However, an EPF account cannot be treated like any other saving bank account implying that there are certain specified criteria under which withdrawal is permitted from an EPF account. An individual needs to furnish all relevant documents and satisfy the necessary requirements in order to be eligible for premature withdrawal of EPF.
Here are the categories and other details with respect to premature withdrawal from EPF.
| Reason | Requirement | Amount allowed | No. of times permitted |
| Education or marriage | > The employee should have completed at least 7 years of employment or service. > Withdrawal allowed for self, sibling(s) or children's marriage. > Withdrawal permitted for self or children's education only. > Proof of the education or wedding required to be submitted, such as a valid copy or a bonafide certificate of the payable fees or the wedding invitation. > In case of education, the individual needs to apply in Form 31 through his/her employer. | 50% of the total corpus amount till date | Permitted thrice only during a person's total service tenure |
| Medical treatment | > Withdrawal permitted for medical treatment of self, spouse, parents and children. > There is no restriction regarding the number of years of service. > The proof of hospitalization for a month or more along with an approved leave certificate from the employer for the corresponding period needs to be produced. > The member needs to obtain and deposit a certificate from the employer or ESI stating that ESI facility is not accessible or available to him/her. > A certified proof or document of the disease should be submitted in Form 31 while applying for withdrawal. | 6 times the monthly salary of an individual or the total corpus amount, whichever is lesser | Anytime |
| Purchase of a plot | > Should have completed at least 5 years of service. > The plot or property should be registered in the person's or his/her spouse's name or should be owned jointly. > The plot should not be entangled in any legal issues and the agreement registered under the Indian Registration Act with the Flat Promoter needs to be submitted along with the application form. | Up to 24 times the salary of the individual | Once during entire service tenure |
| Construction or purchase of a flat, house or plot | > Should have completed at least 5 years of service. > The house should be registered in the person's or his/her spouse's name or should be owned jointly. | 36 times the monthly salary of the individual | Once during entire service tenure |
| Repayment of Home Loan | > Should have completed at least 10 years of employment. > The house should be registered in the person's or his/her spouse's name or should be owned jointly. | 36 times the monthly salary of the individual | Once during entire service tenure |
| Alteration or Renovation of house | > Should have completed at least 5 years of service. > The house should be registered in the person's or his/her spouse's name or should be owned jointly. | Up to 12 times the individual's monthly salary | Once during entire service tenure |
| Pre-retirement | > The individual must be at least 54 years old. | 90% of the total corpus amount | Once during entire service tenure |
Withdrawal from EPF after leaving an Organization
On switching jobs, an employee can apply for transfer of money from the EPF account through a form which is filled by the employee and attested by the designated authority at the employer.
Withdrawal of money from the account in between two jobs is illegal and is permissible only under the following two circumstances:
>When a member is in between two jobs >If the member has been unable to find another job for over two months
Grievance related to withdrawal from EPF:
There is a mechanism to address grievances of EPF members which comes under the Consumer Protection Act. To report a grievance, a member needs to:
>Log on to the website www.epfigms.gov.in >Click Register Grievance >Enter the details and information in the specified field.
All grievances related to the following subjects can be addressed to the grievance cell:
>Withdrawal or final settlement of EPF >Scheme certificate >Transfer of accumulated PF amount >Issuance of PF balance or slip >Return or misplacement of cheque >Payment ofinsurance benefit
EPF is the corpus that helps build financial stability post retirement. It is, therefore, advisable to leave the amount undisturbed during employment tenure unless the circumstances are unavoidable.
Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
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