With COVID-19 cases in the country on the rise due to the Omicron Variant the need for funds for medical purposes has gone up for affected families or persons. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), in a bid to ease the burden on the general public has come up with a solution.

According to the new rule, under the Medical Advance Claim, you can withdraw Rs 1 lakh from the provident fund. The subscribers can withdraw the amount without any paperwork.  How To Change PF Nomination Online Via epfindia.gov.in; Here Is Step-By-Step Guide For EPFO Members

The EPFO in its notification issued last year amid the Delta wave, said, that in case of life threatening diseases, it becomes "imperative to get the patient immediately admitted in hospital on emergency to save his/her life and it is not possible to get the estimate from hospital in such serious situations.

The circular was a revisit by the organisation to the matter of granting medical advance in the event of medical emergencies for employees under the PF scheme.

"A need is felt for streamlining the advance facility for such serious in-patient's treatment in hospital whenever family members of employees are not able to manage estimate from hospital concerned in which such patient has been admitted in emergency. Sometimes patient employee maybe in ICU where estimate is not known in advance. Hence the following procedure may be adopted to grant medical advance for emergency hospitalisation on account of serious life threatening illness including Covid." said the circular.

To withdraw money from PF, the person must be admitted to Government Hospital/ CGHS Panel Hospital. In the case of a Private Hospital, an investigation will be done before allowing the withdrawal. If an application is filed on a working day, the money will be transferred on the very next day. The money can be transferred to the employee's personal account or the hospital's bank account.  New EPFO Rule: Employees' Provident Fund Contribution of Over Rs 2.5 Lakh in a Fiscal Year Now Requires 2 Separate PF Accounts

Here is the complete process to withdraw the amount from your PF account :

  1. Go to the official website www.epfindia.gov.in

  2. Click on 'Online Services'

  3. Fill the forms 31, 19, 10C and 10D

  4. Enter the last four digits of your bank account to verify

  5. Click on 'Proceed For Online Claim'

  6. Select Form 31 from the drop-down menu

  7. Enter the reason to withdraw money

  8. Enter the amount and upload a copy of the hospital bill

  9. Enter your address and click on 'Submit'

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 13, 2022 05:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).