The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has streamlined the process of transferring provident fund (PF) account for employees when they switch jobs. Now, you don’t need to request your previous employer to transfer PF balance from your old account to the new account opened with the new company.
Under the previous standard practice, whenever an employee joined a new company, the new organization would usually ask the individual to get his old provident fund balance transferred to the new company by receiving Form 13 from the previous employer followed by some more steps. Thanks to the new policy, you will now have your EPF account balance automatically transferred when you switch jobs.
However, it’s important to note that automatic EPF balance transfer comes with certain conditions and prerequisites. While automatic transfer is now possible, there are still specific pre-conditions that need to be met.
To ensure that your EPF balance moves with you when you switch jobs, make sure your UAN, Aadhar card and phone number are up to date. These three pieces of information help make the process smooth and hassle-free.
MIRA Money Co-Founder Anand K Rathi explains in detail the prerequisites that must be met before an individual’s EPF account is automatically transferred from his or her old employer to the new employer.
Rathi outlined basically four key prerequisites for the automatic transfer of an employee’s provident fund balance when switching jobs.
“Your UAN (Universal Account Number) and Aadhar numbers should match with the new employer’s data. So make sure your details are updated correctly with the current employer,” Rathi suggested.
The second prerequisite, according to him, is that employees need to ensure that their linked phone number and UAN are activated, as several OTPs may be sent, and if the employee’s phone is old or inactive, the transfer may not occur online.
The third pre-condition is that UAN and Aadhar verification should be completed in the earlier company itself, and it is imperative that this step is done before you leave the organization, Rathi stressed.
Lastly, the old employer should have shared the date of joining and exit of the employee. “Check with HR on this process and the turnaround time. Once you move out of the company it will be difficult to co-ordinate,” says Rathi.
“If all these are in place you will get an SMS once the new PF amount is deposited by the new employer. If the transfer didn’t happen automatically, you can still use Form 13 and transfer the PF manually,” Rathi suggests.
How does a provident fund balance transfer take place?
The automatic transfer of the EPF balance takes place once the new employer transfers the first salary and the PF contribution to the employee.
Exempted PF Trusts are not part of this process
It must be noted that exempted PF trusts and private provident fund trusts are kept out of this automated EPF transfer facility. At present, the automatic PF transfer system is available for only those organisations whose employees’ provident funds are managed by the EPFO.