The Caisse de Prévoyance des Salariés (EPFO), the nodal body of the Caisse de Prévoyance des Salariés (EPF), allows subscribers to consult their balance online. Commonly referred to as a passbook, the document lists the entries of subscriber and company contributions for each month as well as retirement expenses. The passbook also contains the interest credited to the beneficiary’s account.
Here is the detail of the different heads of the EPF booklet:
Establishment identifier and company name (employer)
The booklet mentions the establishment ID, which is a 7-digit number (the first two digits are usually zeros) assigned to each organization covered by the EPF 1952 scheme. It also mentions the name of the company in which the employee is currently working.
Member ID and Member (Employee) Name
The booklet then mentions the name of the employee as well as his membership number. The Member ID is the number given by EPFO to allow the employer to submit the EPF and EPS contributions for the employee.
Note that if the subscriber has multiple EPF accounts, he / she will have separate passbooks for each account which he / she can access using the specific member ID after logging into the account.
Share of the employee and the employer in the contribution
The PF statement / booklet indicates the distribution of the monthly contributions of the employees and the employer in rupees. The part that goes to EPS is also shown separately.
Subscribers should note that the contributions mentioned here are not the same despite the fact that employees and employers contribute 12 percent equally. Indeed, the entire employer’s share is not transferred to the EPF kitty. Part of the employer’s contribution is diverted to PSE.
Interest earned
Interest received on employee and employer contributions is credited once a year to the PF account. Interest earned is calculated on monthly account balances. The PF statement bears the interest rate on which the calculations are based, as declared by the government.
EPFO had reported 8.5% for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. This is the lowest interest rate in the past seven years. In 2018-2019, interest was set at 8.65% while in 2017-2018, it was 8.55%.
Withdrawals
All withdrawals made by the subscriber are also displayed and counted accordingly.
EPFO authorizes the subscriber to make a partial withdrawal or an “advance” from the PF corpus in certain circumstances. A different percentage is allowed for each situation.
How to check the EPF balance?
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to check EPF balance through EPFO website:
Step 1: Visit the official EPFO website – epfindia.gov.in and log in
2nd step: Go to the “Our services” tab and choose the option that says “for employees”
Step 3: Click on the ‘Member Passbook’ option under the ‘Services’ option
Step 4: The EPF booklet page – passbook.epfindia.gov.in – will appear. Enter username (also called UAN) and password
Step 5: Once logged in, the details of the relevant job can be selected. For example, someone who worked in four different organizations would have a choice of four different Member IDs. Once a Member ID is selected, the EPF Booklet can be viewed. The passbook indicates the current balance of the EPF account
The Employee Provident Fund or EPF acts as a savings tool for employees. In the EPF accounts, employees contribute 12 percent of their wages, and an equal amount is paid by employers.
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
First publication: STI
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