EPFO: For employed individuals, the Provident Fund (PF) is considered the safest source of their hard-earned money. However, it often happens that employees forget their old PF number after changing jobs. This becomes especially difficult for those who worked before 2014, as the Universal Account Number (UAN) system did not exist at that time. Each company assigned a different PF number, and a new PF account was created upon changing jobs. Therefore, finding a 15-year-old PF account can be quite a puzzle.
How to find PF number?
EPFO has now provided a solution to this problem. According to the organization, even if you don’t have your old PF number, you can still locate your account. First, employees must visit the Unified Member Portal (unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in). After registering or logging in with their mobile number, select the ‘Track Claim Status’ or ‘One Member One EPF Account’ option. Entering your Aadhaar, PAN, and old PF number will automatically search for old records, even those from 2010. If your KYC is updated and your Aadhaar is linked to your UAN, you can check your passbook immediately. Significantly, under EPFO 3.0, PF withdrawals have also become possible through ATMs and UPI since 2026, meaning there’s no need to visit a branch.
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Understand with an example
An employee named Rahul left a private firm in 2011. He created a new PF account at his new job and forgot about his old one. Fifteen years later, he needed money for his wedding. He downloaded the UMANG app and selected the “Forgot UAN” option. He entered his name, date of birth, and Aadhaar to generate a new UAN and merged it with his old account. In just 10 days, he received Rs 3 lakh, including interest.
EPFO Guidelines
The EPFO says this process is crucial for employees who worked before 2014. At that time, different companies had different PF numbers, and employees often forgot their old accounts when changing jobs. Now, with the UAN feature, all accounts are linked to a single number, making tracking easier.
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Experts believe this move brings relief to millions of employees who had lost information about their old PF accounts. Often, employees suddenly need money and want to withdraw from their old PF accounts. However, the process gets stuck due to the lack of a number. Now, the EPFO’s new guidelines will eliminate this problem.
Employees have been advised to link all their old PF accounts to their UAN. This will not only make tracking easier but also simplify the process of withdrawing or transferring funds in the future.