EPFO UAN– If you are an EPFO member, then this article is for you. Your Universal Account Number (UAN) is a unique number provided to you for your Employee Provident Fund (EPF). Your employer uses this number to deposit your PF contribution, update your balance. If you do not provide this number to your new employer, your contribution will not be credited to your EPF account.
What happens without your UAN?
If you do not provide your UAN, your previous EPF account becomes inactive. This means that your or your new employer’s PF contributions are no longer reaching your PF account. You may face issues like disruption in contributions, delay in withdrawals. In the worst case scenario, the new employer will assume that you are working but not contributing to your PF account.
There may be a problem in PF transfer
When you provide your UAN number, your EPF contribution is also automatically transferred from the old account to the new account. If you skip this step, you will have to transfer manually. This will waste your time and also result in loss of interest for the time when you did not make your contribution.
Skipping this step can also put the EPFO database at risk. Your new employer may face trouble if it is not in line with your active profile. EPFO keeps a close watch on compliance and any kind of inquiry can be made, which may delay salary settlement or even lead to employer audit.
To avoid any complications, log in to the EPFO member portal and verify that all your UAN details are correct. Send it immediately to the HR department during onboarding. Ask them to confirm your previous PF account number so that the contribution is automatically linked. This small effort today will save you from paperwork and hassle tomorrow.