EPFO Withdrawal Eligibility Criteria

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The Employer’s Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) provides an option for employees to take out a portion of their PF account balance as a personal loan without the need to pay it back. While this may come as a surprise to many, it can be a helpful resource for those in need of immediate funds.

To avail of this facility, employees can follow these steps:

Log in to the Member Interface of the EPFO Unified Portal, navigate to the Online Services>Claim section, enter the last four digits of their bank account for verification, select PF Advance/ Form 31, choose the purpose as “outbreak of Pandemic (COVID- 19)”, enter the required amount, upload a scanned copy of a cheque, and provide their address.

Then, an Aadhaar OTP must be entered to submit the request. It’s important to note that specific forms are required for different purposes, such as Form 19 for the Final PF Settlement, Form 10-C for pension withdrawal benefit, and Form 31 for partial withdrawal (advance) of EPF in case of an emergency. These forms can be directly accessed from the Member Interface of the EPFO Unified Portal.

While this option can be beneficial for many, it’s crucial to remember that this is a partial withdrawal of retirement funds, and it should only be considered in times of financial need.

Re-reported from the story originally published in DNA