Looking For Emergency Funds During Covid 19? Tap Into EPF

To tide over the Covid-19 crisis that may have emerged due to various factors for individuals, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has permitted investors to tap into their respective Employees Provident Fund Account (EPF).

What is the maximum amount that I can withdraw from EPF?

The maximum amount that an investor can withdraw for Covid-19 related problems is up to 3 months basic salary plus Dearness Allowance or upto 75% of the amount standing to the credit of the account. Let us say that an investor has a balance of Rs 2 lakhs in his account and his basic plus dearness allowance is Rs 30,000 per month.

So, three months basis plus dearness allowance amounts to Rs 90,000, while 75% of the balance in the EPFO account amounts to Rs 1,50,000. Therefore, the person will be entitled to an amount of Rs 90,000 as maximum withdrawal.

The three things that you need to keep handy during the withdrawal is the Universal Account Number, which every employee now has, your aadhaar card number and a scanned copy of your cheque.

Steps to withdraw your EPF?

It is always prudent to tap into the EPF account rather then go for personal loans, which are extremely expensive. Here are some of the steps to withdraw your EPF money for Covid related financial distress:

1) Log into https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/

2) Once you login enter the UAN number, check the same on your salary slip. Apart from this, if you have registered enter your password and the captcha as shown.

3) On the bar on top there is "online service". ONLINE CLAIM (FORM 31,19,10C & 10D). Click on the same.

4) A new webpage that opens will have all details such as name, date of birth, and last four digits of your Aadhaar number. You need to fill the bank account number that appears on the webpage. Once you fill the same, click "verify". Once verified, a pop-up will appear on your screen asking you to give a 'Certificate of undertaking'.

Step 5: Following this you need to click on 'Proceed for online claim'.

Step 6: A drop-down menu, will feature 'EPF advance (Form 31)', which you can click on.

Step 7: The purpose here needs to be mentioned and you can write the same as Covid 19.

Step 8: Mention the amount of withdrawal that is needed and upload the scanned copy of cheque.

Step 9: A one-time password will be sent, which you need to enter and complete the process.

Tracking

You can track the status of your application. On the same page where you see online services as mentioned earlier, there is also track services. You can click on track services and check the status of your application. We do have any idea of how long the amount would be in your bank account, but, we hope that is swift, given the financial distress that individuals are currently facing. However, since the tracking option is available, it is best to track it through the same.