A lot of EPFO members have a common question which is How to merge PF accounts? This is a legitimate query if you, as a professional, have recently changed your job in pursuit of better remuneration and growth prospects. Yet, such a change will naturally mean merging your old and new PF accounts.
With a view towards helping you seamlessly merge PF account, the Government came up with the Universal Account Number or UAN. This is a 12-digit unique number given to members by the EPF. The UAN number enables the linking of all PF accounts under a single account, thereby making tracking considerably easier.
There are more advantages of the UAN number since employees may easily transfer funds from one PF account to another swiftly via the same. You can also link the Aadhar number to the UAN, thereby lowering the requirement for a signature for withdrawing or transferring PF funds.
Key Features of EPF
- The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is the central scheme under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act of 1952.
- It is managed by the EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation).
- This covers all establishments where 20 or more individuals are employed, and certain companies are also covered, subject to particular terms and conditions, along with exemptions if they employ less than twenty people each. Under the EPF scheme, the employee will have to pay a certain amount towards the same, while the equal contribution will have to be paid by the employer.
- The employee will get a lump sum amount, including the self-contribution and the employee’s contribution with accumulated interest upon retirement.
- The contribution by the employer will be 12% of basic wages and DA (dearness allowance) along with the retaining allowance. An equal contribution will be made by the employee as well.
- For companies employing less than 20 people or meeting other EPFO-notified conditions, the contribution for both parties is 10%. For private-sector employees, the contribution is worked out on the basic salary.
- The contribution will be 12% of the basic salary of both employers and employees. Out of the contribution of the employer, 8.33% will shift to the Employees’ Pension Scheme, although it will be calculated upon Rs. 15,000.
- Hence for every person earning Rs. 15,000 in basic pay each month, the diversion will be Rs. 1,250 every month into the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS).
- If the basic is lower than Rs. 15,000, then 8.33% of the total amount will divert likewise.
- Employees may voluntarily pay a voluntary amount exceeding 12% of basic pay. This is a contribution towards VPF (Voluntary Provident Fund) and is separately accounted for.
- The interest earned is free from taxes, and so is the lump sum amount garnered at retirement or maturity. Contributions are deductible under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act as well.
If you have two PPF accounts, then you will naturally want to know how to merge two PF accounts.
Prerequisites for Merging PF Accounts
Merging two accounts into a single one is not tough, and employees should follow a few steps in this regard.
- The employee should complete the Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure which covers verifying the bank account, PAN, and other details.
- The employee should possess UAN, and this should be linked to the present EPF account as well.
- Employees should wait for a period of 3 days post-activation of UAN prior to merging EPF accounts.
How to Merge Two UAN Numbers Online?
There is a relatively simple process if you wish to merge EPF account online. This covers the following steps:
1) How to Merge PF Accounts Through EPFO Portal
- Visit the EPFO website.
- Click on Services.
- Choose One Employee and One EPF Account link.
- Post selecting the One EPF Account link, you will see a window.
- On the screen, the employee will have to fill up the information, including the phone number and UAN, among other data.
- Post entry of vital information, you should click on Generate OTP, and this will give you an OTP to the registered mobile phone number.
- Enter the OTP and click on Verify OTP.
- You will shift to another window where you may enter details of earlier EPF accounts that you wish to merge.
- Mark the declaration given before clicking on Submit. Merging two EPF accounts is a simple procedure and makes sure that you have a single consolidated account. This makes it a really simple procedure for merging PF accounts.
2) How to Merge EPF Accounts Through Email
If the member has been holding two UANs, then he or she could request the EPFO to deactivate the previously allotted UAN. In order to do this, the user needs to send an email to [email protected]. They need to mention the current UAN and the previous UAN.
After the due verification, the earlier UAN will be blocked, and the current UAN will be kept active. The user will later have to submit a claim for transferring of service and funds to the current UAN.
Facilities by EPFO
- EPFO makes Aadhar Cards the primary identifier in recent times.
- With the UAN, you can readily consolidate multiple accounts into a single account for an EPFO member.
- The EPFO offers a facility for mergers, as mentioned earlier. The UAN is also specified on the salary slip. For activation of UAN, the member should visit the EPFO website at https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/ and then click Active UAN. Post entry of UAN, date of birth, name, and mobile phone number, and the generation of the authorization pin will take place.
- The UAN gets activated upon the entry and authentication of this pin. Make a note of the fact that the merging function will be available only three days post-activation of your UAN.
- You can also transfer the EPF account online if you wish. The transfer procedure is quite simple, efficient, and convenient.
- You can also submit the claim either through your earlier employer or your current employer, depending upon your convenience.
- You should always remember that your Aadhar and KYC details should be suitably updated and registered with the EPFO.
Why is More than One EPFO Alloted?
The most common causes for why a second UAN could be alloted is:
- The exit date was not updated by the previous employer.
- The Universal Account Number was not disclosed by the employee.
Explore Related Calculators