Navigating Provident Fund Withdrawal and UAN: What Are My Options After Changing Jobs?

I would like to present my concern before you all for your suggestions in this regard. I joined a company in June 2010 and left the same in July 2011. From July 2011 to September 2012, I was unemployed. Now, I joined a company in 2012. So, my questions are:

1. Am I eligible to apply for the withdrawal of provident fund money (I don't wish to transfer it to my present company)?

2. Recently, EPFO has decided to give UAN (Universal Account Number) to all its members. So, will UAN be given for the provident fund account of the company which I have left?

3. Currently, my company has a provident fund trust, so will UAN also be given to the provident fund trust?

I need your assistance to understand who can sign and validate the PF withdrawal form when the establishment has been shut down or the employer is unwilling to do so due to various reasons.

Regards,
Harendra Rawat

There is a clause in the EPF form stating that if a person leaves their job and joins another company, then the PF amount cannot be withdrawn. Could you please clarify this? Thanks in advance.

Regards

Since you are now working again, you cannot withdraw the PF amount. It needs to be transferred to the new company. The PF Form for withdrawal clearly states that you are not working for a certain number of months. So, to withdraw, you would need to give a false declaration.

Further, in the new company, you will again need to give a false declaration that you do not have any existing PF account.

PF can either be transferred to the new organization or withdrawn. In case you are not willing to have it transferred, you are allowed to withdraw the entire amount, leading to the closure of your PF account. If this happens, please make sure to open another PF account.

Importance of Maintaining a PF Account

The reason is that a PF account is a savings account. The money you save here is not taxable over the years. Whatever amount you save will only help you later, and the saved amount isn't taxable as long as it is in the PF account. Once it is out of the PF account, it becomes taxable. Therefore, please ensure that you do have a PF account.

Thanks!