To ease the financial burden due to the coronavirus pandemic or any financial issue, a salaried employee has an option to withdraw the Provident Fund (PF) from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The EPFO allows individuals to withdraw money from their Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) corpus under certain conditions. On September 23,  labour minister Santosh Gangwar said in Rajya Sabha that a total of Rs 44,054.72 cr has been withdrawn from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation so far.

For any salaries employee, the PF acts as help in fulfilling the needs after their retirement or if they are in need of finance due to any emergency. If any person wants to withdraw the PF money using online method, it is a very easy process. A person can withdraw the money from his/her PF account through online mode by just sitting at home. EPF Withdrawal: EPFO Using Artificial Intelligence to Settle COVID-19 Related Claims of Employees in 3 Days.

To withdraw the PF, salaried individuals can register a request for withdrawal from their EPF corpus using provident fund body EPFO's website - unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in. The PF withdrawal request made by an EPF subscriber is forwarded to the concerned employer for approval. Once the employer approves the demand, the amount is credited directly into the subscriber's account. According to the EPFO's website - epfindia.gov.in, this process takes up to 10 days. EPFO to Credit Part of 8.5% Interest on Employees Provident Fund Into 6 Crore Subscribers' Accounts for FY 2020.  

Here is the step-wise process to withdraw your money from PF account:

Step 1: Log in on the EPFO's Unified Member Portal website by entering your Universal Account Number (UAN), password and captcha code. The UAN is the account where employees' provident fund (EPF) deposits are made.

Step 2: Go to the 'Online Services' tab and click on 'Claim (Form-31, 19, 10C & 10D)' option there.

Step 3: A new page will open on the screen. Enter the bank account number linked to your UAN and click on 'Verify'.

Step 4: After verifying the bank account details, you will have to confirm and mark on the terms and conditions stated by the EPFO.

Step 5: Click on 'Proceed For Online Claim' option.

Step 6: The person has to now choose the reason for PF withdrawal from account from the list of options mentioned. A person will get only those options for which he/she is eligible for.

Step 7: Enter your full address and upload the scan copy of the check or bank passbook.

Step 8: Click on 'Get Aadhaar OTP'. The person will get an OTP on your mobile number linked with Aadhaar.

Step 9: Enter the OTP and then click on submit.

Step 10: Your request for withdrawal from the PF account will be registered on the portal.

Once the PF withdrawal request is made, the person can check the status of the claim by visiting the portal. After the claim is passed, the money will be transferred to your account.

During his address in Rajya Sabha, Gangwar also said that the  maximum withdrawals from Maharashtra at Rs 8968 crore, Karnatak (Rs 6,418 crore), Tamil Nadu (Rs 5589 crore) and Delhi (Rs 3308 crore) while the total number of non-refundable claims stood at 38,71,664.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 28, 2020 04:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).