When and how can you withdraw from your EPF?

By | November 1, 2017
23 Comments

If you’re in the dark regarding EPF withdrawals, here’s all you need to know about when and how you can withdraw your EPF.

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 Savings 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.

Reasons for Premature EPF Withdrawal
Reason Requirement Amount allowed to be withdrawn No. of times permitted
Education or marriage
  1. The employee should have completed at least 7 years of employment or service.
  2. Withdrawal allowed for self, sibling(s) or children’s marriage.
  3. Withdrawal permitted for self or children’s education only.
  4. 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
  5. 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
  1. Withdrawal permitted for medical treatment of self, spouse, parents and children.
  2. There is no restriction regarding the number of years of service.
  3. The proof of hospitalisation for a month or more along with an approved leave certificate from the employer for the corresponding period needs to be produced.
  4. 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.
  5. 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 lower Anytime
Purchase of a plot
  1. Should have completed at least 5 years of service.
  2. The plot or property should be registered in the person’s or his/her spouse’s name or should be owned jointly.
  3. 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
  1. Should have completed at least 5 years of service.
  2. 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
  1. Should have completed at least 10 years of employment.
  2. 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
  1. Should have completed at least 5 years of service.
  2. 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
  1. 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 organisation

On switching jobs, an employee can apply for transfer of money from his or her EPF account through a form which is required to be filled by the employee and attested by the designated authority at the organisation he or she is employed with.

Withdrawal of money from the account in between two jobs is illegal and is permissible only 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 EPF Balance or slip
  • Return or misplacement of cheque
  • Payment of insurance benefit

EPF is the corpus that helps build financial stability post-retirement. It is, therefore, advisable to leave the amount undisturbed during your employment tenure unless the circumstances are unavoidable.

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23 thoughts on “When and how can you withdraw from your EPF?”

  1. Vaibhav Walwaikar

    I have changed my job 1 year ago. I was working for previous organisation for 12 years. Will i be eligible to withdraw ppf for home loan / plot buying

    Reply ↓
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Vaibhav Walwaikar,

      If you are talking about PPF, you can withdraw only after 6 years and it has nothing to do with your employment. If you are talking about EPF, you need to complete 5 years of continuous service to withdraw from your EPF. If you have transfered your old EPF, you may not be able to withdraw.

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply ↓
  2. shreyas

    I have completed total 4 years of my job.
    So, Can I withdraw PF for my marriage.?

    Reply ↓
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Shreyas,

      Thanks for reaching out to us. You can withdraw from your EPF for the purpose of marriage only if you have held the EPF account for 7 years.

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply ↓
    2. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Shreyas,

      Thanks for reaching out to us. You can withdraw from your EPF for the purpose of marriage only if you have held the EPF account for 7 years.

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply ↓
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Charlie,

      One can withdraw from their EPF account only in the case of marriage (of self, children), higher education and if you are out of a job. It is not possible to withdraw from your EPF for any other reason.

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply ↓
  5. Anil

    I had left an organisation in 2005 after working for one and half years but have not withdrawn the PF so far. Will I be able to withdraw my PF now.

    Reply ↓
  6. sai

    hello,

    i have been in service for the past 6 years, and recently i bought a new house and i would like withdraw pf money to prepay the housing loan.

    could you please help me in this regard.

    Reply ↓
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Sai, You can withdraw a part of your PF to pay an existing Home Loan provided you have completed 10 years of service. In addition, the house needs to be either in your name, your spouse’s name or it should be jointly owned. Cheers, Team BankBazaar

      Reply ↓
  7. Puneet

    I want pf withdrawal my account pf .I working since 10 year continue .But now I am having same problem in money .PL given my money pf account

    Reply ↓
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Punit,
      A withdrawal can be made from your PF for these purposes:
      – Education/Marriage
      – Medical Treatment
      – Purchase of Plot/ Purchase of house/Construction of house
      – Renovation of house
      – Repayment of Home Loan
      – On pre-retirement (if you are at least 54 years old)

      Additionally, you can also withdraw your PF if you are:
      – In between two jobs (left a job and looking for another)
      – If you have been unable to find a job for more than 2 months

      We hope this information was useful to you.
      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply ↓
  8. Mohd Zain

    Hi,

    Can i withdraw my pf for my marriage, i have completed 4 years in my company, or is there any loan possibility on my efp account. please tell me the complete procedure i’ll be thankful to you.

    Reply ↓
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Mohd Zain,
      You can withdraw fron your EPF for your marriage if you have held your EPF account for 7 years. You can withdraw up to 50% of your share with interest. You need to use Form 31.

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply ↓
  9. Mohd Zain

    Hi,

    I have completed just 4 years in my company, so please suggest me some other option like loan facility on my epf account or some other way to withdraw my pf for my marriage.

    Reply ↓
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Mohd Zain,

      You can withdraw your EPF only if you have transfered your EPF account from your previous employer. Also, that account needs to have been open for 7 years (including the 4 years spent in this company). But, if you haven’t transferred that accout and if your EPF account is new and less than 7 years old, then you cannot withdraw it. Also, there isn’t a facility to avail loan on EPF, although PPF has it.

      Your best bet in this scenario is to apply for a Personal Loan. Do compare some of our offers here.

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply ↓
  10. Vijay Shukla

    Hi ! My name is Vijay …I joined a tech BPO organisation in the year 2004 and resigned in the year 2011 ..It was more than 7 years of working with them…Neither I got my PF transferred nor withdrawn till date …Couple of days ago I went to this company and they issued me 2 blank forms. One was Form-19 and the other was Form 10-C (EPS) ..I filled these 2 forms ( whatever best I can to the best of my knowledge ) and submitted along with 2 cancelled cheques, Aadhar card and Pan card copies …They said that blank and left over columns/ items will be taken care by them. They informed me that it might take 15-20 days for money to get transfer to your Account….Now, my question is whether there will be full transparency as far as my Form filling / PF / PPF / EPF / EPS etc. etc ..in terms of calculations and interest rate part …Is there any system where I can get this cross- checked ??? Please reply ….

    Reply ↓
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Vijay Shukla,

      There is no way to cross-check the submission of your application. You can check the status of your withdrawal request online and check the balance in your EPF account to ensure that you get the right amount. If you don’t want to give your details to your previous employer, you can submit the forms on your own to the EPF office. However, this process might take quite a bit of your time.

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply ↓
  11. Jimmy Joy

    I have worked for 10yrs with an organisation and quit in 2018. Joined a new firm in 2018 and now is wish to make a partial withdrawal of my PF account. I had transferred the previous employers PF amount to the new employer. Am I eligible for withdrawal as my current tenure in this organisation is 2 years.

    Reply ↓
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Jimmy,

      If you want to withdraw money before retirement, it can only be for specified needs. EPFO allows partial withdrawals for certain circumstances such as medical emergencies, education, marriage, home loan repayment, purchase or renovation of a house, etc.

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply ↓

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