What Are the Pros and Cons of Withdrawing or Transferring My PF After Changing Jobs?

Dear all, please help me and thanks in advance. I have resigned from a company where I worked for 13 years. Currently, I have been working for another company for the past 3 years. I have neither transferred nor withdrawn my PF contribution from my previous employer.

Advantages of Withdrawal and Transfer of PF Contribution

What are the advantages of withdrawal and transfer of the contribution? Will my pension eligibility be affected by a withdrawal? What should I do?

Regards

It is better to get the P.F. transferred to your new establishment by applying to the Commissioner under whose jurisdiction your previous establishment falls.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Consultant
Mumbai
Tel: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

EPF Withdrawal or Transfer: What to Consider

Whether to withdraw or transfer depends on your requirements. Last year, the interest on EPF was 9.5%. This year, it will be below 9%. If you are able to get more than that, or you have to take a loan at more than the above interest rate, withdraw PF. Otherwise, you may transfer it.

The PF amount withdrawal will not affect your pension entitlement. The pension fund is not connected with the PF investment.

Regards,
Abbas.P.S

I have resigned from one company and now joined another.

Questions About PF Fund and Pension

1. When can I get my PF fund along with the pension?
2. Is it necessary to continue my PF account for 10 years to claim a PF pension?

Kindly provide a valid answer to my questions.

Regards,

You will receive the PF amount after the completion of service. After being relieved from service, if your age falls between 50 and 58 years, you are eligible for a reduced pension, provided you have a minimum service of 10 years in PF. Upon reaching the age of 58 years (given you have at least 10 years of service in PF), you will be entitled to a full pension, even if you choose to continue in PF.

Regards,
Abbas. P. S

If you join an establishment covered by the P.F. Act, you need to transfer your account to the new establishment. You can withdraw the pension even before completing 10 years in terms of Para 14 of the Scheme. Since the amount is meager, it is better to opt for a scheme certificate.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai
Tel: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

I will have to withdraw my Provident Fund (PF) from my last employers, which are private companies. I want to understand a few things:

1. After how many months of relieving can I withdraw PF?
2. If I had worked for 6 months in a company and resigned, can I still withdraw the PF amount that was deducted from my salary?
3. I have changed companies 5 times in the last 7 years but have not withdrawn PF from any of them yet. What will be the process and where should I start? For the initial two companies, I don't remember my PF account numbers, but I have my employee ID for all companies.
4. What is the process for getting PF credited to my savings account, and how many days will it take?

In short, please help me understand the process of PF withdrawal.

Thank you,
Anand

It is advisable to get your PF account transferred from your previous employer to the present one to receive interest on the entire amount and obtain the total sum with interest at the time of retirement. This amount will prove to be very useful. Additionally, the accumulated sum will be beneficial at the time of withdrawal for any major purposes stipulated in the EPF Scheme. Regarding the pension, I concur with Abbas.

Regards,
S.K. Johri

My dear Anand, it will be in your interest to get your PF dues transferred from all previous employers to the present one as this will:

- Allow for your amount matching contribution of the employers.
- The amount so transferred will make a good sum to be used later, if and when required.

Regards,
S.K. Johri

I do not want to transfer, so can I withdraw the entire amount? Should I talk to my previous employers to withdraw, or should I directly fill out the PF withdrawal form and dispatch it to them?

PF Withdrawal Conditions

For PF withdrawal, the following conditions need to be met:

1. A person should be unemployed for 60 days. Accordingly, the PF withdrawal form can only be filled out after 60 days of leaving services.

2. In exceptional cases where a person is leaving the country permanently, PF can be withdrawn immediately after leaving the services, for which a proof copy of the Visa will be required.

3. In cases where the service period is more than 10 years, only the Employee Contribution and EPF part of the employer contribution can be withdrawn. The FPF (Family Pension Fund) part of the Employer's PF contribution cannot be withdrawn. The same can be withdrawn in the form of a pension (reduced pension after 50 years of age or full pension after 58 years of age). There is also an alternative available in the form of a Scheme Certificate. A Scheme Certificate is a document issued by the PF Department that mentions the individual's PF contribution along with the duration of the contribution. In case a person joins somewhere after withdrawing PF contributions, he/she can provide the Scheme Certificate to the new employer, who would submit the same to the PF Department, and the amount gets added to the pension fund amount. Accordingly, the person can receive a pension on retirement (or earlier) at a higher rate.

Thank you.

You can withdraw your PF amount after the completion of 2 months from the leaving date of the organization. Yes, you can claim the PF amount for a six-month working period as well. The procedure has been set for PF withdrawal to include your bank account number. According to that, the PF office will directly credit the amount to your account.

I agree with Mr. Johri; instead of withdrawing the PF amount, you should opt for a transfer. There may be complications in withdrawing the PF amount from the previous organization as you have not filled out the withdrawal form or communicated with them for the last 5 years.

Regards,
Dnyaneshwar

I have resigned from a company where I worked for 9 years. Currently, I have been working for another company for the past 2 years. I have neither transferred nor withdrawn my PF contribution from my previous employer.

PF Account Details

1. X Company Code: GJ/RJT/40713/461 (Withdrawn PF contribution/Pension is Pending)
2. X Company Code: GJ/RJT/40713/1200 (Pending)
3. Y Company Code: GJ/RJT/76576/16 (Continued...)

After six years, X company stopped my PF account (GJ/RJT/40713/461), and after 3 months, X company opened a new account (GJ/RJT/40713/1200). After 3 years, I resigned from X company and joined Y company. I withdrew the old account of X company (GJ/RJT/40713/461), but I have not received the pension fund.

Questions

Q-1 Can I transfer the pension fund from the old account of X company to Y company?
Q-2 Can I transfer the second account of X company to Y company?

Thank you very much,

Regards,
Dilavar Mulla
Rajkot

When we withdraw our PF amount, we can receive the full amount of our 12% contribution, which has been deducted from our salary. What about the employer's part? Can we receive the pension amount that has been contributed by our employer, or are we only eligible for 3.67%?

Kindly clarify my doubt.

You can make a final withdrawal from the PF after you have stayed unemployed for a period of two months. Thereafter, you have to make applications in Form 19 under para 72(5) of the EPF & Miscellaneous Act 1952.

In case you have ever been employed in an organization that is exempted from the application of this Act, the rules of the same shall apply. A better way would be for you to write to each of the previous organizations of your choice for the final withdrawal and await their response, then act accordingly based on their response.

Regards,
S.K. Johri

If you want, you can withdraw the P.F. amount and retain the pension and apply for a transfer. In this case, the pension service will carry forward. It is one of the best ways available. You can also withdraw both the pension and P.F., but you will have to forgo the pension service. P.F. interest is more attractive than any other investment; moreover, you can avail of the P.F. loan facility whenever you want.

In my view, the best option is to retain the P.F. with the PF office.

Regards,
D. Gurumurthy
HR/IR Consultant