Employee provident fund - EPF FAQ



1) What is the difference between EE and ER amount In EPF Balance Inquiry SMS?
EE : EmployeE contribution
ER : EmployeR contribution

2) Why EE and ER are different amount in EPF Balance Inquiry SMS?
Many people think EE and ER should be same because employer is contributing the same amount as employee. But employer contribution is divided into two parts 1) ER 2) EPS
Please read Employee Provident fund Contribution for more details.

3) Why my EPF account is dormant account?
If there is no fresh deposit for 3 years in EPF account then your account will be inactive/dormant and you will not get interest from that date.

4) While checking EPF balance online, it shows “Invalid Member_id / Data not updated against this account”.
There could be many reasons for this error.
 - You are not using the correct establishment code like KN/BN,BG/BGN
 - Your PF account is not managed by government EPFO but managed by your company privately.
 - Your PF account is in dormant status(Sometime it shows wrong balance for dormant account)

5)  Important EPF forms.
Form 19-To be submitted by a member to withdraw his Provident Fund dues on leaving service/retirement/termination.
Form 10c- For eps contribution claim
- Refund of Employer share.
- Withdrawl benefit
- Scheme certificate for retention of membership
Form 13 -You just have to fill form 13 to transfer your P.F amount  and submit in new company.It will transfer EE+ER+EPS amount.

6) Is EPF withdrawal amount is taxable ?
Yes, if your EPF account is not 5 years old and EPF amount will be added into your taxable income and will be taxed according to your tax slab.
Let’s assume you have EPF account since 1st JAN 2005 and there is no fresh investment from 1st JAN 2008 (because you left company). The EPF withdrawal amount will be taxable if you withdraw before 1st JAN 2010 but it will be non taxable if you withdraw after 2nd JAN 2010.

7) What are the eligibility rules to get employee pension scheme benefits?
Employee should complete membership of the employee pension scheme for 10 Years.
It means you should not withdraw EPS money for continuous 10 years and you should transfer money to next company whenever you change company.

8) How do I know your EPF withdrawal claim status?
Please follow http://www.epfindia.com/ClaimStatus_New.html to get status.

9) How do I know your EPF balance online?
Please read EPF Balance - Employees' Provident Fund Balance online for step by step process.

10) How do i register my grievance for EPF or EPFO?
Please go to http://epfigms.gov.in/ website and submit and track your EPF/EPFO grievance.

26 comments:

  1. Hi Jig Vishu I have 3 questions, could you be kind enough to answer all of them please: 1. i worked in a company in 2005 and left exactly in 2 years in 2007, i could not serve notice period,due to medical reasons so the company denied signing my pf withdrawal form, i got it signed by gazetted officer, alongwith a cover letter, still the form was sent to my previous office, and i never got my pf,now it shows as inoperative account. What should i do to withdraw it, since the company is not helping me at all? 2. Can i transfer the same inoperative account to my existing PF account, with my recent/new employer? 3.Does the name on the PF Withdrawal form have to be exactly the same as recorded by the PF office --amina usmani on EPF Balance - Employees' Provident Fund Balance online

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So I could not answer this question on other post because of one technical limitation.
      1) Your old company is not following legal process. you can force them for signing the the form. try sending mail to HR Team and get written acknowledgement for not signing the form.

      2) Yes, You can transfer PF to new PF account by submitting form to new company. It will directly goes to EPFO office.
      3) Minor variance in name in PF account is ok because you are providing PF account no in transfer form also.

      Delete
  2. My D-o-J is on 01.01.2011. Amount Deduction as PF is Rs.780/- I got a message "EE Amt:Rs.1823,er amt:Rs.557 as on 07.07.12 (a/c updated upto 31-3-11). What Does it Mean? How much amount total has been deducted from me as EPF till today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They have taken only 3 months (JAN-11 to MAR-11) for PF contribution for interest calculation. so your EE is around 1823. so your contribution is calculated correct only.

      Delete
  3. By Abu Sifat on 10th dec

    hi, dear jig vishu. i have got a sms from EPFO. EE AMT RS.4185 ER AMT RS.1279 AS ON 16/07/12 (ACCOUNT UPDATED UPTO 31-03-11) I Worked in the company almost 19 months and my PF contribution was 772 per month. I'm shocked to see my PF balance So please tell me that how much amt. i Will get ? thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Abu,
      Your APR-12 to till date(9 months)contribution are not reflected in SMS because account is updated till 31-03-2012.
      for remaining 10 months of 772 contribution..it should be 7720 for EE and Er will be less because of EPS contribution.
      dont worry it's minor correction. you can verify during withdrawal

      Delete
  4. Why PF amount is very low? Im working from past 4 years and every month they deducting nearly 2000/- (PF EMPLOYEE CONT. + PF - EMPLOYER CONT.) but my balance still showing very low. Can you please explain the SMS which says data updated till Mar 31, 2011, is this included 4 years data or what?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ramlal,
      As per SMS, your APR-11 to DEC-12 (around 21 months)are not considered for calculation. Some EPFO office process data late..Dont worry.
      your SMS shows data of initial 27 months of your job and As your PF contribution is small amount and it will be EPS contribution so the overall balance looks small.
      you can read
      http://www.investmoneybetter.com/2011/09/employee-provident-fund-contribution.html

      Delete
  5. From Hoshi Rawat:
    Hi, how to get epf balance? i am not getting any sms. Please Suggest me.

    Answer:
    Is it showing any error message online while entering data..If all data is correct then it shows message is sent on Mobile no..
    So I Assume it's issue with data entry or your account is inactive now

    ReplyDelete
  6. From Rama Venkata
    ee:54207 er:40079 Acc upadted in epfo:31-3-2011 company stated: 2009 oct to 2012 may.. for 31 months how much total amount will i get

    Answer:
    If you withdraw then EE+ER and Addition EPS amount you will get..It will be more than shown In SMS because APR-MAY'12 contribution not counted in SMS

    ReplyDelete
  7. From Abu Sifat
    hi, dear jig vishu. i have got a sms from EPFO. EE AMT RS.4185 ER AMT RS.1279 AS ON 16/07/12 (ACCOUNT UPDATED UPTO 31-03-11) I Worked in the company almost 19 months and my PF contribution was 772 per month. I'm shocked to see my PF balance So please tell me that how much amt. i Will get ? thanks
    --
    Answer: don't worry. your account is not updated till latest date/year. it's maintained till MAR 11 so not all month contribution is calculated.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi JigVishu

    I worked for a company from 24 Apr 2006 till 3 Oct 2008 and moved to another company.I have raised PF transfer request on 8 june 2011.I dont know the status of it till now and my previous company also doesnot have any information about it and they asked me to register for grievance.

    I have registered for grievance last week.But the reply I got from them is "Please furnish complete EPF account number".I gave my account number as per payslip and I am also able to get details about my new PF account.
    Is my account inactive ? What can I do now ? Please suggest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did you create grievance online at EPFO website?
      Your PF account must be on KN/12345/9876 or BG/BNG/12345/9876 format.
      if possible then let them about which state or city your old pf account belongs too.
      last credit to old account was done on OcT 2008 so definately yout old account is in dormant-inactive status. but they should be check details for sure it.
      let me know if you have further query.

      Delete
  9. I joined company on 31/01/2011, and PF amount they deducted almost 2000/- month. Till 2 years in this company. Can i know how much money i will get while withdrawing..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Once you change company then only you can withdraw money. you can your EE and ER balance online. EE will be 2000*24 and ER will be 1400*24 and EPS will be 600*24 + Additional Interest amount.

      Delete
  10. Question by Baheer,
    hi vishnu i joined nov 2011 in my company my pf amt is 600 i chk my pf status on 09.01.2013 got sms of, EE = 2425, ER = 740 as on 11-12-12(accounts updated upto 31-03-12) pls tell the calc steps for EE and ER.

    Answer:
    Only 4 months contribution till Mar-13 is considered for balance shown in SMS.
    it will be 600*4 + Interest and large portion of employer goes to EPS so ER will be very less.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Question by Anuj,

    HI, i worked Religare in 2 year and 3 months here are my PF details Dec. 2009 to march 2010 - 780 from my account and 780 from Company April 2010 to March 2011 - 920 from my account and 920 from Company April 2011 to March 2012 - 1020 from my account and 1020 from Company the total will be 45000 to 50000 (i am giving you the estimate) what when i checked the PF amount through sms so it was not showing exact. here are the sms details EE Amt:18113 ER Amt:8402 Last updated 16-01-13 acc. updated 16.01.2012 SMS is up to data Note:i resigned in March 2012 so what the hell is my remaining balance. who is responsible for this? is the company or you this is so disgusting ,that i am not getting any help regarding this i want my remaining ammount. right now i am not working,so my humble request to you please provide me my remainnig balance. Regards,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anuj,

      Don't worry if your company had contributed to EPFO then you will get
      complete money which includes your contribution+company contribution+ Applicable interest
      I think Religere is raputed company and they whould have done their dues on time

      Let's calculate your contribtion to EE.
      Dec. 2009 to march 2010 - 780 from my account
      4*780 = 3120 =A
      April 2010 to March 2011 - 920 from my account
      12*920 = 11040 =B
      April 2011 to March 2012 - 1020 from my account
      11*1020 = 11220 actual
      ( But your account is updated till 16/1/2013 only)
      9*1020 (contribution till DEC 11 is considered) = 9180 =C
      Total ER = A+B+C = 23350

      Let's calculate your contribution to ER
      This has EPS deduction also.
      So ER will be less then ER.

      I have seen many people question of little less SMS info for EE and ER
      then actual.

      SO dont worry, contact your EpfO and get the correct details.
      PLease reply back with your question if any.

      Delete
  12. Hi Vishu,
    Thanks for all your patience replies. I need one more help. I have resigned from my previous org in Oct 17th 2012 and applied for EPF with drawl on Dec 21st 2012. On Feb 6th 2013 I received a SMS from EPFO saying "We have recived your application and is in process". Could you please update me how much time will it take to amount get credited?

    Thanks,
    Sham_

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Sham,

    generally it takes 2-3 months time for entire process and Some EPFO center are slow in processing withdrawal request.

    So I suggest you wait for some time.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi,
    I had transferred my PF a/c of Company A to B in 2010, B to C in 2011 and C to D in 2012.

    The transfer status is :
    A to B : Settled
    B to C : Still shows balance
    C to D : Complete

    My question is what will happen if the transfer of B to C now takes place?? My current company HR suggested me to withdraw the amount but the Company B is not entertaining my request now. Can you suggest??

    Thanks
    Tiyasa

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Tiyasa,

    I am not sure.
    your C:D transfer is complete so C will not be active account now. So B:C transfer can not take place.
    So Good Idea will be withdraw PF from Company B.
    Company B can not deny your request. Ask them to give written justification or you tell them that you can complain to EPFO about their behavior.


    ReplyDelete
  16. Nice Artcle,I Was not aware that ER contribuition involves PF + EPS Contribuition. thanks for this info and Clarity, Great Work Sir Keep it up.....

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi SughoshSK.

    Thanks for your comments. Nice to know that this helped you to solve your concerns

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi,

    This is Srikanth, I was working with a company in Pune and I left that company in October 2005. I submitted a PF Transfer form in my new company just after I join in November 2005. I have never tried to know whether my Pune PF amounts are transferred or not... but today when I come to know about the online PF status websites, I tried to get the details of my new company and it worked good. But when I enter the previous company (pune) details it says "In-operative account"... Can you please help me what should I do in this case. I want to know the status of my previous PF account in PUNE and if there is a money in it, I would like to withdraw that money. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Srikanth

    Your Pune account is inactive now so you can not check balance online. If possible then I will suggest check with EPFO pune office directly.

    Else you can apply for PF transfer in new company from Pune company.

    OR contact old company to update status.

    I hope this will help.

    ReplyDelete