How to Merge Multiple PF Accounts: A Step-by-Step Guide
Managing multiple accounts can be cumbersome, and leaving them inactive may impact your retirement corpus.
With changing jobs comes better pay and new opportunities, but it can also lead to multiple Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) accounts.
Ideally, your Universal Account Number (UAN), a unique 12-digit number for your PF account, should stay the same throughout your career.
But if you change jobs often, sometimes multiple UANs can get created. Managing these accounts can be cumbersome, and leaving them inactive may impact your retirement corpus.
Now, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has come up with a solution that allows employees to merge their old EPF accounts into a single account.
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Here's how to merge your PF accounts:
You can merge your PF accounts either online through the EPFO website or by email. However, for both methods, you must have an active UAN.
Via website
Go to the official portal of EPFO, i.e., https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/ and log in using your PAN and password.
Now, click on "One Member—One EPF Account," which will be available under the Online Services tab.
After that, your personal details such as name, bank details and mobile number, will appear.
Verify and make sure that they match the details in your Aadhaar card.
You will now have to choose your employer, current or previous, for verification.
After verification, submit the transfer request.
You will receive a tracking ID to monitor the status.
Via email
You can send an email request to uanepf@epfindia.gov.in.
You need to include the details of the old EPF accounts you want to combine.
Once your request is verified, the EPFO will deactivate your older UANs.
After this, you will have to submit a claim to transfer the funds from your previous PF accounts into your active account.
How Long Does It Take To Transfer Your PF Account?
You can track your PF transfer online in the "Track Claim Status" section on the EPFO website. Usually, it takes 10 to 15 working days for the EPFO to process a transfer request and move your money from the old PF account to your active account.
