Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) is a retirement benefits scheme designed for all employees earning a salary. Eligible employees have to invest a portion of their monthly salary and the employer too makes an equal contribution to the employee’s EPF account. This scheme is managed by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation of India (EPFO).
Whenever an employee changes his/her job, they can either choose to withdraw the EPF balance or can transfer the balance to a new EPF account using the EPS Scheme Certificate. To withdraw the accumulated EPF account balance, one needs to furnish Form 10C. Let’s have a look at some of the important details surrounding EPF Form 10C.
What is EPF Form 10C?
Every employee who is eligible for EPF has an EPF account, which he/she may want to maintain with the government for financially securing their retirement. In case an employee changes his/her job, they can choose to carry forward the same EPF account to the new organisation. Those who do not get into a new job can apply for withdrawal of EPF balance. To withdraw the funds while retaining the EPF membership, an employee must file the Form 10C.
What does EPF Form 10C contain?
Form 10C contains the following sections that an EPF member must fill while applying for withdrawal of balance:
- Applicant’s name
- Date of birth
- Father’s or Husband’s Name (applicable for married women)
- Complete address of applicant
- Date of joining the company
- Name and address of the company where the member was last employed
- Establishment details (such as office code, establishment code no. and account number)
- Date of leaving service
- Reason for leaving
- Willing to accept Scheme Certificate in place of withdrawal benefits (Yes/No)
- Member and nominee details (in the event of death of the member post attaining 58 years of age without filling the claim)
- Balance is remitted through postal order, cheque or deposit in savings account
- Applying for pension under EPS, 1995
- Employee and employer signatures
- Organization’s seal
- Family and nominee details–Name, date of birth, relationship with the member and name of the guardian (for minors)
- Scheme Certificate – details filled by office of PF Commissione
- Settlement receipt for pension in the savings account, also known as Advance Stamp Receipt
Steps to fill Form 10C
An EPF member can withdraw the balance amount from the account at the time of switching a job. He/she should have completed a minimum of 6 months of continuous service before making the withdrawal. Pension account balance withdrawal should be made before completion of 10 years of service.
Follow the steps given here to fill Form 10C for EPF balance withdrawal:
- On the EPF Member Portal, a user can login using UAN and password
- From the ‘online services’ menu, one must choose “Claim (Form–31, 19 and 10C)”
- To verify and proceed, a user must provide last 4 digits of his/her bank account number
- Once on the “Certificate of Undertaking”, a user must sign the same and select “Yes” to the agreement of terms and conditions
- Under the ‘I want to apply for’ option, choose the “Only Pension Withdrawal (Form 10C)”
- Provide the complete address and mark the disclaimer
- Select the “Get Aadhaar OTP” option
- Once an OTP is sent to the user’s mobile number, he/she must enter the same and click on “Validate OTP and Submit Claim Form”
After completion of these steps, a user’s pension claim form is submitted and the balance is disbursed to his/her bank account post verification by EPFO.
Who can apply Form 10C?
Mentioned below are the eligibility criteria to apply for withdrawal through Form 10C:
- The applicant must have left his/her job before completion of 10 years of service
- Applicant should have attained 58 years of age before completion of 10 years of service, irrespective of whether in service or otherwise
- Member who is below 50 years at the time of application and has completed ten years of service
- Applicant who is more than 50 years of age, but below 58 years and does not want to receive a pension at a reduced rate
- Family members/ legal heirs / nominees of a deceased EPF member who died after turning 58 years of age, but the completed years of service is less than ten years
What are the benefits of Form 10C?
Here are the claims that can be made through Form 10C:
- Employer share refund
- Scheme certificate for member retention – This can be claimed if:
- the completed period of service is at least 9.5 years and
- member has not yet attained 50 years of age as on application date
- Withdrawal benefit: The scheme allows members to withdraw pension balance before attaining retirement. This certificate is issued to members:
- who have been in service for a maximum of 9.5 years.
- should not have attained 50 years of age as of application date.
Conclusion
In case an employee of a closed establishment wants to withdraw EPF balance through Form10c, he/she can get the application form attested from a gazetted officer before furnishing the same.
FAQs
EPF members must fill Form 10C each time they change a job, whether they want to withdraw or transfer the EPS balance. Both these actions are possible only through this form. This is applicable only if the employee’s company is covered under the EPF Act, 1952.
As per EPF rules, the duration of service of an employee is rounded off in multiples of six months. Therefore, if an individual’s employment duration is 4 years and 2 months, the EPS service duration will be 4 years.
Some of the documents required to process Form 10C include, copy of a blank or cancelled cheque, birth certificate of nominee (applicable for scheme certificate), revenue stamp of Re.1 to be pasted on the form, and death/succession certificate if application is being made by a legal heir of a deceased member.
No, you do not need to visit the EPF office if you have submitted a withdrawal application online.
In case you change your job after 8 months of working with a company, your service duration as per EPS will be considered as6 months and you will get the EPS amount equivalent to 6 months. However, if you are unemployed, you can claim 8 months of EPS amount.
