How to Transfer PF Online to Another Account – Step-By-Step Guide

Gone are the days when an individual spent most of his working years with a single employer and retired from the same company. With most of the jobs being created in the private sector, job changes have become the norm than an exception. And with job changes, change of workplace from one city to another is also fairly common.

While changing jobs means enough paperwork to get relieved, collect dues and join elsewhere, employees should not also forget an important component of their benefits package. This is the mandatory contribution into the Employees Provident Fund. This can be transferred from the old employer’s account to the new one.

Why transfer PF and not close it?

While changing jobs and joining a new employer, an employee has an option to close the old PF account and open a fresh one. But it is wiser to transfer the old PF account funds to the new one. Earlier, the transfer involved some paperwork, like submitting the transfer form from an old employer to the new one, but with launch of an online self-service portal by EPFO this has become easier and hassle-free.

Advantages of EPF Transfer:

While closing an old account before 5 years, the amount becomes taxable. But if you simply transfer the funds, you get to enjoy your hard earned money in full.
You can avail partial withdrawal on your PF funds for reasons like purchasing/constructing a house, medical treatment, marriage of own or daughter etc.
You earn the prevailing rate of interest from EPFO, in the long run this becomes a substantial sum due to the power of compounding.

EPFO estimates say Rs.22,000 crores were lying with the organization as of March 2013. Since these accounts were dormant for three years, they were not earning any interest too.

How to go about PF Transfer?

The EPFO had always allowed fund transfers. But it was time consuming and cumbersome since an employee had to get a Form 13 signed by his ex-employer and submit to the present employer. Also the form had to be sent by post and could get lost or misplaced. There was lot of discontent among employees and therefore it explained the dormant accounts lying with EPFO.

EPFO Online:

However, things have started changing radically after EPFO launched an online, self-service portal on 2 October 2013 for online transfer of funds. Already, over 1.15 lakh employees have applied on the portal to transfer their PF funds. While, 90,000 claims out of this has been settled, about 8,900 have been rejected. Hence, the success of online PF transfer is very high. For ease in transferring funds online, EPFO in July 2013, introduced a revised Form 13 . This can be submitted to either the present or to your previous employer. Earlier, the employee had to submit it only to the previous employer. But, if the present employer falls under the exempted category (that is maintains a trust), then the form can be submitted only to present employer. They have also launched a Universal Account Number that links a particular member to a particular account and facilitates its portability when the member changes employers.

Step-By-Step Guide for Online Transfer of PF Funds

Here is a step-by-step guide to how you can log into the EPFO portal and facilitate the transfer of your PF funds from one employer to another.

If you have already been assigned a Universal Account Number, you can transfer funds easily. Ask your employer for UAN, if you haven’t got it.

Go to the EPFO website at http://members.epfoservices.in/home.php and create your UAN based login ID.
This will take you to a page where you have to enter your UAN, mobile number and details of current employer like state, establishment number and account number.
Then you need to check if account is eligible for a transfer on the EPFO site. You need to fill in the state where the employer was located and search by name or establishment number from a dropdown menu.
After you have filled in the details, click on Check Eligibility.
The site will then let you know if your account is eligible, or not. If it is, then you can register on the EPFO website.
You have to submit a valid photo ID such PAN card, Aadhaar or driving licence. The website will also send a PIN to your mobile which you have to verify.
Submitting the PIN successfully will give you a confirmation message. Continue further.
This will take you to the EPFO Member Claims Portal, To log in you have to provide the document ID and phone number. After signing in, you can see all options.
Go to the top tabs and click on Request for transfer of account.
You can now access and fill in PF transfer form. It has three broad parts:
- First, you have to enter personal information in the first part. Other than your name and email you have to enter IFSC code of the bank and your salary account number.
- In second part, fill in details of your old PF account
- In part three, fill in details of current PF account.The claim can be attested by your previous or current employer. It takes some time for their end to do it.
After the form is correctly filled in, you can click preview to see if the information is correct. Or else modify.
After ensuring all the information is correct, enter the captcha and get PIN. Also click “I Agree”.
After entering the PIN, the claim transfer is initiated.

You can also check the status of your funds transfer through the portal. In case of any hitches you may enquire at the previous/ current employer end or write to EPFO directly.

This is how easy, the funds transfer of PF has become through the online portal.

Here is what you will gain by linking Aadhaar number with UAN

The Aadhaar card, which contains the unique details of a person – a citizen of India – has made several processes relaxed. One such process amongst the many out there is the PF scheme and its benefits of having it linked with an employee’s UAN (Universal Account Number). By seeding in the details of your Aadhaar card in the EPFO’s member portal and uploading a scanned copy of it, the unique details on the card suffice as verification for one’s identity. Apart from that, here are some benefits of linking your Aadhaar card with UAN:

The UAN links all PF accounts and can be handled as one account. Linking the Aadhaar card to the UAN will first prevent the duplicacy of accounts.
If in any case the EPFO requires your identity or address proof, the Aadhaar card details seeded in the member portal will suffice.
One can transfer funds between PF accounts without the digital signature of your employer.
One can also make PF withdrawals without the attestation of their employer by just linking the Aadhaar card to the UAN.
Linking the Aadhaar card with the UAN brings about transparency in the system.

Nominate beneficiary for EPF savings

Nominating a person to receive your PF savings is a safety precaution that the EPF has made mandatory. In case of death, the nominee will receive the funds saved by their deceased family member/spouse and in times of trial, the funds could get the members of the deceased across the line. Nominating a beneficiary can be done as many times as possible on the EPFO member portal. For those having family members, they cannot nominate someone outside the family, but if they do not have family, they can. If there is no nomination, then the saved fund is split between the family. In the case of marriage, a fresh nomination will have to be made for the spouse. For those looking to make a nomination, the whole process has been shifted online. Prior to this, one had to fill in Form 2 stating the nominee and submit the application to the EPFO office. Listed are the steps needed to nominate a beneficiary online for your EPF savings:

Log on to the UAN member portal and enter your UAN to gain access to the site.
On the UAN dashboard click on ‘profile’. From the drop list, click on ‘edit nomination detail’.
Your details such as name, date of birth, member ID, establishment ID, gender, father or spouse’s name, date of joining, marital status and so on will pop up. The only area you can update is the address. Click on update.
Next, you will have to fill in the details of your family members, even minors.
The details will then show on the EPF/EDLI section. At this point, you can still make changes if there are any errors.
Once you have filled in the details, you need to assign a percentage of the PF corpus to each member. Remember that the total will tally to 100%.
Next, fill in the nominee details. For those who do not have family members, use this section to nominate a non-family member.
Click on ‘submit’ after you have entered your nominee. Click on the nomination declaration ‘check box’ to verify the details.
Once you have checked the nomination declaration, make an approval and send the updated nominated beneficiary to your employer.
Take a print out of the nomination form, sign it and get the attestation of your employer as a formality.
Through the OTPC portal, your employer will then digitally sign your nomination. The employer can also reject the nomination in certain cases.

Resolve Your PF Withdrawal Issues Online

There have been cases when employers have refused to allow their employees to make emergency withdrawals from their PF savings. The number of cases has only increased over the years, with employees being hassled by their employers, so much so that now the EPFO has introduced a ‘claim portal’ for employees to sort their issues against their employers. For employees facing such problems, follow the steps to raise a claim and issue a complaint against your employer:

Log on to the claims portal of the EPFO – https://employerclaims.epfoservices.in/
Once you are on the site, click on the EPFO ‘claim online’. Any PF account holder facing issues with their employer can raise a claim.
If the employer refuses to allow you to make an emergency withdrawal, the PF holder can file a ‘complaint regarding provident fund’ on the same portal.
The issue, if valid, will then be taken up by the EPFO and solved in due time.

An employee cannot file a complaint against their employer if their are flouting certain restrictions with regard to making PF withdrawals. In such cases, their claim will be discarded. The restrictions are:

He/she should have completed at least two months of service in the present company before making a withdrawal. If he/she tried to make a withdrawal before two months, an employer can reject their request.
An employee, however urgent the situation, cannot make a 100% withdrawal before the age of 57. Upto 90% can be made if he/she is not 57 years of age or above.
PF account holders should be aware of the fact that withdrawals made before five years of continuous service will draw tax. After five years withdrawals are tax-free.

EPF Status through Claim ID

The EPFO allows employees to make withdrawals, transfers, etc., from their PF fund if the need to do so props up. For this, they need to raise a claim. To see if their claim has been approved by their employer, employees need to check their claim status – which can be done via the EPFO’s member portal, by SMS or by using the EPFO’s mobile app. If you are new to the EPF fund, this is how you navigate through the member portal to check your claim status:

Visit the EPFO’s member portal – http://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/KYCS.php
On the website, click on ‘Know your status’ tool button or use this URL – http://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/KYCS.php
Next, enter the state your regional PF office is located in.
Enter your establishment code.
Once you have done that, enter your PF account number.
Now enter the 3-digit code of your PF account number – numeric or alphabetic.
Click on submit, your claim will pop up along with your claim status ID.
Once you know your claim ID, you can directly check the status of your claim using the claim ID on the EPFO member portal.
Other ways to check your claim status is via the EPFO’S mobile app, or once your claim has been approved, the EPFO will send you a text message on your mobile assuring you of the same.

EPF form 13 status

For those employees who have shifted organizations and require to also shift their PF accounts, facilitating the use of form 13 is the way forward. Employees have to fill in the details of their previous and present organisations in the Form 13 and request for the closure of the previous account and initiation of the new PF account in the new organization. Soon this process will wither away as now the UAN links all PF accounts and is handled as one account. For an employee that has submitted Form 13 for the transfer of accounts, the attestation of both organisations is required. In the meantime, the employee can check the status of form 13 by following the steps mentioned below:

Log on to the EPFO’s member portal – http://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/KYCS.php
On the website, click on ‘Know your status’ or use this URL – http://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/KYCS.php
Enter the state your regional PF office is located in.
Next, enter your establishment code.
Once you have done that, enter your PF account number.
Then enter the 3-digit code of your PF account number – numeric or alphabetic.
Click on submit, your claim will pop up along with your claim status ID.
Once you know the claim ID for form 13, you can directly check the status of your claim using the claim ID on the EPFO member portal.
Once your claim has been approved, the EPFO will send you a text message on your mobile assuring you that your PF account has been transferred.

EPF claim status form 10c

It is possible that somewhere down the line employees get stuck in a tight spot, and the only way out of the situation is by using the funds accumulated in one’s PF account. To make a withdrawal, the employee needs the approval of their employer – who can reject the claim under particular circumstances. Employees making withdrawals before five years are subject to tax. After five years, withdrawals are completely tax-free. To make a withdrawal, employees need to fill in form 10C to initiate the process of making a withdrawal. For this, employees need to raise a claim, and once the employer has given the approval, the funds can be withdrawn. Having said that, employees linking their Aadhaar card to their PF account do not need to seek the approval of their employer, the withdrawal can be made directly. To check the claim status of Form 10C, follow the steps:

Vist the EPFO’s member portal – http://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/KYCS.php
Once the website pops up on your screen, click on ‘Know your status’ or use this URL – http://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/KYCS.php
The next step is to enter the state your regional PF office is located in.
Then, enter your establishment code.
Once you have done that, enter your PF account number.
Then, enter the 3-digit code of your PF account number which could be numeric or alphabetic.
Click on submit, and your claim will be displayed on the screen along with your claim status ID.
Once you know the claim ID for form 10C, you can directly check the status of your claim using the claim ID on the EPFO member portal.
Once your form 10C claim has been approved, the EPFO will send you a text message of the approval to make a withdrawal.

EPF claim status form 10D

The EPFO has given employees the possibility of raising a pension fund from their existing Provident Fund savings, to ensure that the employee enjoys the benefits of a pension post retirement. To do so, employees need to fill in form 10D to initiate the process of the Employee Pension scheme. To check the status of your claim to start the Employee Pension scheme, follow the steps mentioned below:

Vist the EPFO’s member portal – http://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/KYCS.php
On the EPFO website, click on ‘Know your status’ or use this URL – http://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/KYCS.php
Next, enter the state your regional PF office is located in.
After you have done that, enter your establishment code.
Enter your PF account number.
Then enter the 3-digit code of your PF account number – numeric or alphabetic.
Click on ‘submit’, and your claim will be displayed on the screen along with your claim status ID.
Once you know the claim ID for form 10D, you can directly check the status of your claim using the claim ID on the EPFO member portal without having to log on to your PF account and go through the aforementioned steps.

Source by:- bankbazaar