If you work in the private sector and have changed many jobs, then you may have had many EPF accounts. Having multiple accounts causes confusion. Let us know what is the easiest process to merge EPF account and what loss you may suffer if you do not merge it.
Changing jobs is common in the private sector. Sometimes when they don’t get along well with their boss, sometimes people change jobs for better prospects. But, when you go to another company after changing jobs, your new EPF (Employees Provident Fund) account is opened there.
Due to this, many times people get confused that when there was an EPF account in the previous company, then why was a new one opened? Now what will happen to the previous EPF account? Can both the accounts be merged or not? Let us know the answers to all these questions.
Why is a new EPF account opened?
Whenever you start working in a private company with 20 or more employees, the company has to open your EPF account. In this, both the employee and the company contribute equally to the economic future of the employee.
When you open an EPF account for the first time, you get a Universal Account Number (UAN) from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). Whenever you change jobs, the company opens your new EPF account, but the UAN remains the same.
This is the reason why there are multiple EPF accounts under one UAN. Your PF balance also looks different. Unless you merge all your accounts, it will look different.
Disadvantages of not merging EPF accounts
If you merge all your EPF accounts, the UAN will combine your entire work experience. For example, if you have worked in three companies for 2-2 years, then after merging your accounts, your total experience will be 6 years. If you don’t merge the accounts, these items will count differently. In this case, on withdrawing money from EPF account, you will also have to pay TDS (Tax Deduction at Sources) of 10-10 percent.
How to merge EPF account?
If you also want to merge all your EPF accounts at one place, then the process is quite easy.
– Go to https://www.epfindia.gov.in/.
– Click on For Employees in the Services section.
– Choose One Employee – One EPF Account option.
– Log in by entering the new page UAN, password and captcha.
– On the next page you will see the details of the old EPF account.
Then enter the EPF account number and submit.
Now your EPF account merging request is complete. As soon as your existing company approves your application, EPFO will merge your old account with the new account.
