EPFO Guide: Are Back-to-Back PF Withdrawals Permitted? Check Key Details About EPF Advance
The EPF withdrawal is dependent on certain conditions, like the purpose and how many times you have withdrawn earlier.
The Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), a statutory body under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, manages the EPF scheme. The government-backed scheme is aimed at providing social security to employees in the private sector in their retirement years.
Every month, 12% of the basic pay and the dearness allowance (DA) of an employee is added to the Employee Provident Fund (EPF). An equal amount is also contributed by the employer every month. As per the existing norms, pre-mature withdrawal from the EPF account is not advisable as it’s a retirement benefit scheme. The full amount can be withdrawn only after retirement or unemployment for more than two months.
However, EPFO allows advance withdrawal under certain conditions, such as medical emergencies, higher education, wedding expenses, home renovation, or unemployment.
However, many people often wonder whether they can make back-to-back withdrawals from their PF account and how often they can file these claims.
Is Back-to-Back PF Withdrawal Permitted?
Yes, the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) allows individuals to make back-to-back withdrawals; however, there are limits on frequency and purpose-based eligibility for withdrawal. One thing you need to make sure of is that you cannot withdraw unlimited amounts at any time, as only partial withdrawals are allowed.
The withdrawal is dependent on certain conditions, like the purpose for which you are withdrawing and how many times you have withdrawn earlier. However, there are certain limitations. You cannot withdraw the entire corpus fund and only a partial withdrawal is allowed.
How Often You Can Apply For EPF Advance
Full withdrawal of your PF is allowed under specific circumstances, such as unemployment for two months and retirement. You can withdraw 75% of the PF balance after one month of unemployment and the remaining 25% after two months of unemployment.
Full withdrawal is also allowed upon retirement, permanent disability, or permanent settlement abroad.
For medical treatment, you can withdraw six months of basic wages and dearness allowance (DA), or your total employee share with interest, whichever is less. These claims can be made multiple times as needed and there is no minimum service period requirement.
On the other hand, for education and marriage, you must have completed at least seven years of service. The amount is limited to 50% of the employee’s share with interest. For both purposes, advance withdrawals are allowed only three times.
For home renovation, you can withdraw an amount equal to 12 times the monthly salary of the EPF subscriber. At least 5 years of continuous service should be completed for this advance claim.
In the case of a home loan repayment, up to 90% of the EPF corpus can be withdrawn. The employee should have completed three years of continuous service to withdraw the EPF advance for this purpose.
EPFO also allows 90% of the corpus fund one year before retirement.
How To Withdraw PF Amount?
The PF amount can be withdrawn by either submitting the form online or by visiting the EPFO office.
For the online method: Submit the withdrawal claim through the EPFO Member e-Sewa portal. You will need your UAN (Universal Account Number), Aadhaar, PAN, and bank account details to submit the claim form online.
For the offline method: Visit your nearest EPFO office and submit a composite claim form (Form 19/10C/31) along with necessary documents, like identity proof and bank details.
