EPFO Allows Members To Avail COVID Advance Facility After Quitting Job, Check Details

Subscribers of the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) can use the Covid Advance Facility even after they have left the employment. If a person has quit a job and still has to find another job or employer, a part of their PF corpus can be withdrawn as a Covid Advance Facility. According to EPFO, any PF subscriber can request a Covid advance. The member or subscriber is eligible for the Covid advance if he or she quit the job or employment but has not yet taken advantage of the final PF withdrawal benefits, as a result, he or she is still a member of EPF.

PF advance rules for COVID-19

The EPFO has particular regulations, paperwork, and procedures for seeking an advance due to COVID-19. The EPFO member can withdraw PF funds up to the amount of basic salary and dearness allowance for three months, or up to 75% of the amount in the EPF account, whichever is less. Furthermore, you can apply for this advance even if you have already received a PF advance for medical or other legitimate requirements. Furthermore, EPFO has declared that taxation is not levied on any EPF Scheme advance. That being said, you can only seek PF advance if you have complete KYC. In case of incomplete KYC, you will be unable to claim PF advance.

When it comes to appropriate or complete KYC, you must ensure that your UAN has been verified with Aadhaar and your bank account details and mobile number has been linked to your UAN. If you have not already done so, you must finalize your KYC by filing it through the EPFO portal. The most essential thing to note here is that your Aadhaar-linked mobile number will receive an OTP when you file your claim online. As a result, your Aadhaar must be linked to your mobile number. For successful linking your Aadhaar with UAN using the eKYC portal, you must ensure that your name, date of birth, and gender, match those in Aadhaar.  

Steps to avail the Covid advance facility online

Follow the steps below, if you want to use the Covid advance facility

• Visit (https://unifiedportalmem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface) and go to the 'Online Services' section.
• Now click on Claim (Form-31,19,10C & 10D).
• Now enter your bank account number and verify the same.
• Now click on "Proceed for Online Claim" and select PF Advance (Form 31) from the drop-down menu.
• Now select the purpose as "Outbreak of pandemic (COVID-19)" from the drop-down list.
• Now enter the amount that you want to withdraw and upload a scanned copy of the cheque and specify your address.
• Now click on "Get Aadhaar OTP" and you will get an OTP on your Aadhaar-linked mobile number.
• Enter the OTP in the required space and verify the same.
• Click on 'Submit' and upon successful verification of your request, you will get a confirmation message on your registered mobile number.

Steps to avail the Covid advance facility using the UMANG app

To file a Covid claim via the UMANG app, follow the instructions below.

• Open the UMANG app on your mobile phone and select EPFO.
• Now tap on "Request for Advance (COVID-19)" and enter your UAN and click on 'Get OTP'.
• Now you will get an OTP on your UAN-linked mobile number, enter the received OTP in the required space and sign in to your account.
• Now enter the last four digits of your bank account and select your member ID from the drop-down list.
• Now tap on "Proceed for claim" and enter your address.
• Click on 'Next' and upload the scanned copy of the cheque and enter your address details.
• Your claim will be successfully lodged once all the credentials are verified.
• It should be noted that the Covid advance facility can only be accessible once. Upon submitting your advance request, you can check the status of the same at https://passbook.epfindia.gov.in/MemberPassBook/Login where you need to click on 'Track Claim Status' under the 'Online Service' section.