How employees are benefitted with the EPFO portal?

Technological advancements have eased the lives of common man to a great extent. With the ever surmounting work pressure on people it became tough in managing their PF related query. The EPFO portal has eased the entire process for claiming, submitting, and getting the money transferred to the account, can now be done online on the portal of EPFO. The website is user friendly that allows to perform operations from anywhere without any hassle.

Individuals have to create a member login on the portal and get themselves registered. Post which it allows you to check status online.  Several services are extended by EPFO to its members like UAN (Universal Account Number), facility of withdrawing PF online, transferring PF etc. But in order to avail all these features, a member has to activate his account first.

How to register and login to the EPFO portal:

• Go the portal of EPFO and register yourself

• Fill the details on the registration form as reflected on the main page.

• UAN number must be activated to log in to the EPF account.

• Ensure to fill the accurate details while registration process.

• Post registration one can log in to the EPFO portal.

• Post filing  the details, it asks for login any one document. You will be required to select any one document.

• Properly check the documents before submitting

• On submission, it will ask for a PIN sent to the registered mobile number.

• Enter the PIN received for registration.

• Personal details will be required on registration like DOB, Mobile number etc.

• You can download your e-book on registration

Points to remember while registration:

• Only one mobile number is required for registration

• A single ID number is required on one mobile number, although a single individual can have multiple ID numbers.

• Only one account can be viewed by a single employer

• Under different establishments, a maximum of 10 accounts can be viewed.

• For a new account, mobile number and ID proof is necessary.

EPFO provides following services:

1. e-Sewa for employees – Various facilities like downloading UAN card, updating KYC information, transactions related to EPF passbook is being provided under this service.

2. Withdrawal of PF online-  EPFO portal has made the online withdrawal of PF  quite simple. Post 60 days of resigning from the last employment, an employee can withdraw the PF amount.

3. Checking of claiming status online – Members can check the status of their PF claim online easily, through the EPFO portal. 

4. Checking of PF balance by missed call and SMS alert- The SMS and missed call service, helps the member know the status of their respective accounts. By giving a miss call on the number 011-22901406 and by sending an SMS to 7738299899, members can view details of their account.

5. Downloading and viewing of EPF passbook- Members can view and download their passbook online and are also enabled to check their claim status.

6. Online Payment of PF by employer – The ministry of finance has made it mandatory for all establishments to make PF payments online. For making arrangements and collecting PF dues from the employer, 10 banks have been identified for the same.

7. Management of non-functional accounts – Accounts in which no contribution has been made within the last 36 months, falls under the category of inoperative accounts. The facility to cater requests of unused or dormant accounts was introduced in 2015. With this facility, employees can track and settle their old balances and even transfer the amount, based on the details of their previous employment.

8. Providing UAN number – UAN is a 12 digit unique code, being allotted to every employee. It allows employees to link different EPF account to a single code, UAN. Functions like updating PF passbook, transferring old account, linking previous member IDs to the current one, activating information services like SMS service, has been simplified with the introduction of UAN.

EPFO operates in the below schemes

Employees Provident Fund Scheme

Employees Pension Scheme

Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme

Benefits of having Universal Account Number

• Having a PF account ensures all employees are genuine

• When an individual changes job it facilitates online withdrawals

• It helps tracking the change of employees job

Advantages of UAN

SMS Alerts -  Employees receive SMS whenever contribution is done by the employer.

No fund transfer is required – On handing over the UAN details and KYC to new employer, the old PF will be transferred to the new PF account.

Less employer involvement in PF withdrawals – The involvement of employer has been considerably reduced with the online transfer facility. When the KYC verification has been done, PF from old organization will be transferred to the new PF account.

How can one check the UAN status?

UAN status can now be checked online of EPFO members. On selecting the state and entering the EPFO account number to check the UAN status.

Steps to check UAN status 

• Visit the portal and login id and password.

• Click on the “Online Services” tab and a drop down will appear.

• Click on “Track Claim Status”

• It will display the online status of withdrawal/transfer.

What are the features of UAN?

Even if the employee changes the job the UAN of the employee remains the same. A new member ID is given to employees on switching jobs. This is then linked to the UAN. EPF balance check online is no longer a tedious taskHere we have listed below the features of the UAN:

• UAN helps in reducing the trouble that companies and organisations go through in the verification of employees.

• It assists in tracking the number of times of job change by the employee.

• Early withdrawal from EPF scheme has been reduced after the introduction of UAN.

Below are the list of documents required for UAN

• Identity Proof

• Address Proof

• Bank account details such as account number, branch name, IFSC code.

• Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC Card)

Facilities available on the UAN member portal?

Host of facilities are enjoyed by the members by accessing UAN portal. Below listed are the ones.

• UAN Card and UAN Passbook

• KYC details can be updated anytime

• Previous member IDs list can be seen

• One can link Aadhaar to the UAN.

• Personal details can also be updated also on the portal

• PF transfer, full or partial withdrawal of funds also can be done online.

EPFOs newly launched feature allows employees to update their date of exit for the previous organisations they were associated with. It assists in making the claim process easier. Prior to it  was only done by only the employer which made the employees dependant on their previous employer.

Employees changing jobs will now find it easier to update their employment credentials in case of movement. It will assist employees to transfer funds online or to make claims in case of unemployment for more than two months. It will make employees less dependant on the employer.

Online facilities have made the task of individuals a lot more easier. The innumerable rounds of offices have now lessened. People can now get their work done from the comfort of their homes. The website is user friendly and does the functions without any hassle. People are less likely to face any issue while operating the functioning the website and its services. In case of any query one can reach out to the grievance addressal section to get their issues resolved. 

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Digital12345 Joined: January 19th, 2020