The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) is a key component of full-time employment in India. Both employees and employers contribute 12% of basic salary to the EPF account. While contributions are automatic, issues often arise during withdrawals—sometimes delaying access to funds by several months or even a year. A periodic review of the account can help prevent such delays.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) operates two key portals: the member portal and the passbook portal. Access to the member portal requires a Universal Account Number (UAN) and password. First-time users must create a password by entering personal details such as name, father’s name, date of birth, contact number and Aadhaar.
“The login itself is the first check. If a member can’t log in, it means their UAN isn’t linked with Aadhaar. Get it done through your employer,” says Kunal Kabra, founder and chief executive officer of Kustodian.life, a tech firm that helps resolve claims across EPF, banking, wills, and trusts.
Once logged in, verify personal details such as name, father’s name, date of birth and address. These must match the details on Aadhaar and PAN. Any mismatch should be corrected immediately.
The next step is to review employment history. The portal lists all previous and current employers. Joining and exit dates should be verified for accuracy. Any missing or incorrect date must be reported to the employer.
“Even a single day of overlap or missing work history should be fixed,” warns Kabra.
For employees whose previous employer maintained a trust, that service history should also reflect in the account.
“It will reflect if the PF balance from that employer has been transferred to the existing one. If not, that’s a red flag,” he adds.
Old accounts and balance transfers
Many members fail to transfer old PF balances when changing jobs, or never confirm if transfer requests have gone through. The passbook portal can be used to check this. All previous employers’ passbooks should show zero balance, while only the current employer’s should display an active one.
“If older accounts still hold funds, raise transfer requests on the member portal to merge them. Remember only EPF balance gets transferred, not EPS,” says Kabra.
Old PF accounts not linked with the current UAN must also be digitized and linked.
It is equally important to verify eligibility under the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS). Of the employer’s 12% contribution, 8.33% goes to EPS (up to ₹1,250 a month) and 3.67% to EPF, but only if the member is eligible. Rules changed on 1 September 2014.
Those who became PF members before this date are eligible for EPS. Those who joined after this date with a basic pay above ₹15,000 are not. In such cases, the employer’s entire 12% contribution goes to EPF.
Once an EPS member, always an EPS member—those enrolled before September 2014 continue in the scheme even if their salary later exceeds ₹15,000.
“Most employers rely on employees’ self-declaration in Form 11 without explaining the rule. This leads to wrong enrolments or missing contributions, often discovered only when withdrawals get rejected,” says Kabra. “Fixing it later involves shifting funds between EPS and EPF. It is a long-drawn process.”
An audit of your EPF account can help identify these issues for course correction. Ensuring that all records are accurate and updated allows timely access to savings when required. Professional assistance may be sought for a detailed account review.
