EPFO Allows Up To 100% Part Of Withdrawal: What This Means For Employees
Now, members will be able to withdraw up to 100% of the eligible balance in the provident fund, including employee and employer shares.
The board of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) approved liberalised part withdrawals for its more than seven crore subscribers on Monday, allowing up to 100% EPF withdrawal.
Headed by Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the apex decision-making body of EPFO, took several decisions during its meeting, a Labour Ministry statement said.
Simplification of EPF Partial Withdrawal Provisions:
To enhance the ease of living of EPF members, CBT decided to simplify the partial withdrawal provisions of the EPF Scheme by merging 13 complex provisions into a single, streamlined rule categorised into three types, namely, essential needs (illness, education, marriage), housing needs and special circumstances.
Now, members will be able to withdraw up to 100% of the eligible balance in the provident fund, including employee and employer shares.
Withdrawal limits have been liberalised that is, education withdrawals allowed up to 10 times and marriage up to 5 times (from the existing limit of a total of 3 partial withdrawals for marriage & education in all).
The requirement of minimum service has been uniformly reduced to only 12 months for all partial withdrawals.
What Changed In The New Policy
Earlier, under ‘Special Circumstances,’ the member was required to clarify the reasons for partial withdrawals viz., natural calamity, lockouts/closure of establishments, continuous unemployment, outbreak of epidemic etc. This often led to rejection of claims and consequent grievances. Now, the member can apply without assigning any reasons under this category.
A provision has been made for earmarking 25% of the contributions in the Members’ account as Minimum Balance to be maintained by the member at all times.
This will enable the member to enjoy a high rate of interest offered by EPFO (presently 8.25% pa) along with compounding benefits to accumulate a high-value retirement corpus. This rationalisation enhances ease of access while ensuring members maintain a sufficient retirement corpus.
Scheme provision simplification along with greater flexibility and zero need for any documentation, will pave the way for 100% auto settlement of claims for partial withdrawal and ensure ease of living.
The period for premature final settlement of EPF has been extended from 2 months to 12 months, and the final pension withdrawal period has been changed from 2 months to 36 months. This liberalization of partial withdrawals allows members to address immediate financial needs while protecting their retirement savings and pension entitlements.
