Navigating EPF Discontinuity: How Long Can You Pause Contributions and What Are Your Options?

I have the following queries regarding EPF discontinuity. Please clarify for me.

1) I had worked in an MNC for the past 10 months. Now I have moved to a start-up organization with fewer than 20 employees. Therefore, I am not eligible to contribute to my EPF in the current organization.
a) How long is the discontinuity in paying EPF allowed? (i.e., is it acceptable to discontinue EPF payments for up to 2 or 3 years?)

2) Since my current organization is not eligible for EPF contributions, I am maintaining my EPF account with my previous employer. In this case, how much interest will I earn? How long am I allowed to maintain the EPF account with my previous employer? Are there any other alternatives to continue my EPF account?

Please let me know.

Dear Barani,

If you have joined an establishment that is not covered under EPF, in my opinion, it is better to withdraw the EPF amount and obtain a scheme certificate under EPS to ensure that your past service is preserved for pension purposes. It is not advisable to keep the PF account inactive for long periods.

M.V. Kannan

Dear KANNAN/Abbas,

Thanks for your reply. Can you share what a scheme certificate/EPS is in detail? It will be very useful for me. Please help me regarding this.

Regards,

Dear Barani,

EPS is the abbreviation of Employees' Pension Scheme - 1995 under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, which is also known as the PF pension scheme. Those who have not attained the age of 58 years may apply for a Scheme Certificate in Form 10C, where full details of the above EPS will be recorded. When you are eligible for a pension or for the withdrawal benefit, the scheme certificate can be furnished to easily prove your claim.

Abbas. P.S

Dear Barani,

Abbas has already answered your query. The scheme certificate is issued by the EPF office when there is a discontinuity in PF membership owing to various factors such as a break in service, joining an establishment not covered under PF, overseas studies, employment, etc.

In such a case, you need to seek a scheme certificate from the EPF office. This certificate will mention the period of service rendered by you in the organization, wages drawn by you, etc. The period of service indicated by the EPF office in the scheme certificate will be considered while calculating the pension benefits upon your attaining superannuation. There will be a column in the Pension claim form seeking for scheme certificates available with you. At that time, you need to furnish the original scheme certificates held by you to enable the EPF authorities to compute the total service rendered by you while you were in service during your lifetime till you furnish your claim for pension.

Trust the matter is clear.

Regards,

M.V. Kannan

Hi, I was working with a company for the last two years. I have an EPF A/C with them. Now I have resigned and joined another company that does not have an EPF facility. What are my options?

1. Am I eligible to close the A/C and withdraw the entire amount? If YES, then is it taxable?
2. If NOT, can I maintain the A/C by depositing 24% of my basic each month by myself without the intervention of my current and previous employer?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
RBhunia

EPF Withdrawal and Contribution Guidelines

The recommendations made to Bharani will also be applicable to you.

• You can withdraw the EPF amount by submitting Form 19 through your past employer to the EPF office.

• You can either withdraw the EPS amount as you have worked for only 2 years or opt for a scheme certificate by submitting Form 10C through your past employer to the EPF office.

The amount withdrawn by you is not taxable. You will not be able to contribute 24% of your basic salary to the EPF office directly because the contributions are taken into account by the EPF office only through employers who are assigned a code number, and the employer thereafter assigns a subcode to their employees.

Trust the matter is clear.

Regards

Thanks a lot for your reply. Is the withdrawal non-taxable even if the EPF account is maintained for less than five years?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
RBhunia

I have two accounts from previous companies. One was with a PF trust, and the UAN number was also given. The other one is with EPFO and has been inoperative for 4 years. In the present organization, PF has not been considered due to the salary bracket. My questions are:

How to merge two PF accounts?

I don't have any current PF account. I am unable to view the PF balance on the EPFO site, which is connected to the PF trust. For viewing, I have to go to the company's website.

Is it mandatory to link PF accounts?

I am afraid that the EPFO amount will transfer to the trust. Is it mandatory to link my UAN to the old PF account, as I am concerned that the EPFO amount will transfer to the trust, and for that sum, I will have to go through trust formalities?

Suggestions for PF account safety

Please suggest how both my PF amounts can be kept safe, and I should be able to withdraw the PF amounts on my terms without the consent of the employer.

Regards.