Has your EPF Account Become Dormant? Check Out This EPFO Rule Else Your Provident Will Remain Stuck!

Most provident fund related services have gone online. This makes claiming very easy. But even today there are many such cases. In which people face great difficulties while withdrawing EPF.

Like when they can withdraw their money. What are the advantages and disadvantages of withdrawal. There are many questions like how to transfer EPF account. But, you know? Your EPF account can also be closed automatically. If this happens to your EPF account.

If your old company is closed and you have not transferred your money to the account of the new company or there has been no transaction in this account for 36 months. So after 3 years this account will be closed automatically and it will be added to inactive accounts of EPF. That's not all.

EPFO in a circular a few days ago said that care must be taken while settling claims related to inactive accounts. Extreme care should be taken to minimize the risk of fraud and claim amounts should be paid to actual account holders.

Provident Fund Accounts where the contribution is not credited for more than 36 months. EPFO places them under the category of inactive accounts. Interest is also earned on inactive accounts.

EPFO has an online channel from where its members can claim the money lying in their dormant accounts. The subscriber should log in to the EPFO website and go to the Inoperative Helpdesk. There he needs to fill in all details of the dormant EPF account and submit KYC details like Aadhaar number, PAN number, bank account number and IFSC code. The application will then be verified by EPFO staff and processed.It may be noted that if the employee is still employed, then it is advisable not to withdraw the PF. The provident fund is a long term safety net and one should preferably transfer it to his existing active account. Even though the EPFO has rolled out the Universal Account Number (UAN), a member still needs to transfer the money from a dormant account to his/her existing account so that the amount lying in the dormant account starts fetching interest.

In case the subscriber has died, his nominees will get the money in the percentage specified by him. However, there is a time limit here. A nominee or EPFO member can apply within 25 years of the amount going into the Senior Citizen Welfare Fund. After that, it will go to the government coffers, ET Wealth mentioned in a report.

If the amount is more than Rs.50 thousand then withdrawal or transfer will be done after approval of Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner. If the amount is more than 25 thousand rupees and less than 50 thousand rupees, the account officer shall transfer funds.