Merging of two or more EPFO accounts is very common these days. Employees keep switching their jobs for a better career and higher salary. Switching from one job to another lead to multiple Employee Provident Fund (EPF) accounts being opened, one with each employer (know more about the procedure to register employe provident fund). With the initiation of UAN (Universal Account Number), it becomes possible to consolidate multiple accounts into a single account for each EPFO member.
Retirement fund body EPFO provides a facility to its members that allow the consolidation or merging of their multiple PF accounts with the current universal account number (UAN).
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Harsh, who is 28 years, is working in an IT firm. After 3 years, he moved to Pune from Mumbai for a change in his career. He had closed the previous organization’s PF account and started with a new one once he shifted to Pune.
Nisha, who is 26 years, is a marketing Analyst. After 2 years, she changed her organization. She continued using her old PF account without closing it even though she got shifted to a new company.
While considering the two case studies, Priya has taken the right decision of continuing with the previous PF account even though she changes to many firms. Switching from one job to another within a year or two is common these days. A lot of working people these days change companies or organizations often in the quest for a better paycheque and career opportunities. To amend such issues the legislature introduced Universal Account Number, in short UAN which is a unique 12-digit account number given to the EPF members.
Every EPFO member is allotted a UAN which is generally specified on the salary slip. For the activation of UAN, the member should go to the EPFO unified number portal at https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/ and click on the tab “Activate UAN”. by filling the UAN, name, date of birth, and mobile number, an authorization PIN will be generated. The UAN will be activated once the PIN is entered and authenticated.
For merging two existing EPFO accounts, the member should visit the EPFO website and under the “Services” tab, choose the “One employee – One EPF account” button.
Now when clicking on the link, a form will appear for consolidating multiple EPF accounts. Next, he/she should enter his mobile number that is registered on the UAN portal. Further, UAN and current member ID must be entered. After submitting these details, an OPT will be sent to the registered mobile number for authentication.
After you enter the OTP, a page will appear on which you have to enter your old PF account details for the merger. Once you fill in your old PF account number and accept the declaration and submit the form, the request for the merger of the accounts to the existing PF account will be sent to EPFO.
The procedure that is mentioned above can be followed by the individual, as it is quite easy to do by self. An alternative way to follow this is by submitting the claim either through his/her current employer or the organization the person has quit.
Merging two EPF accounts is simple and guarantees that you have one combined account. This ensures an easier life, and that you get a single amount when you require to pull back your employee’s provident fund. Due to the passing of the Aadhar Act, 2016 (26th March 2016), EPFO is currently looking to make Aadhar, the requisite address proof. People having Aadhar seeded UAN, can escape the trouble of claiming forms verification by the company.
You may now have figured out the reason why it is so crucial to consolidate two EPF accounts into one EPF account. At the same time, it is also important to comprehend that you must link your Aadhar Card. First, settling payments would be easier and simpler when you have done this. In addition, it is more precise. In case you have not linked your Aadhar Card so far, you should do so as soon as possible.
An individual can apply for offline transfer through Form-13. There exists a standard procedure that you have to follow, fill the Form-13 (Download from EPFO official site) which your new organization HR can offer you, where you have to fill in the details of your current PF account and submit it to your current organization HR.
The existing PF balance from the previous organization will therefore begin taking in new PF sum. The PF account has a government element, so it does not matter whether you work in a public firm or a private firm. The procedure will be the same for everyone. Each time you switch a job it’s simply the new organization detail and record that must be refreshed.
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