If you work in a company and get your salary every month in your account, then you must also have a Provident Fund (PF) account. The Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) gives this facility to all salaried people. For this, 12% of your basic salary is cut every month. The company also adds the same amount. This money goes into your PF account.

The company’s contribution is divided into 3 parts. 3.67% goes to EPF, 8.33% goes to EPS (Employee Pension Scheme), and a small part goes to insurance. The PF money is for your retirement, so that after your job ends, you can use it to manage your life.

Pension and insurance benefits

The 8.33% contribution that the company puts in EPS (Employees’ Pension Scheme) becomes the base for your monthly pension after retirement. If you contribute to EPF for 10 years, you can start getting pension after the age of 58 years. Along with this, under the EDLI scheme, the family gets insurance benefit if the employee dies early.

Minimum 10 years contribution needed for pension

To get pension benefits, you must contribute to EPS for at least 10 years. This means you must work for 10 years. The maximum pensionable service is 35 years. At present, the maximum pensionable salary is considered ₹15,000. Because of this, the maximum pension share is ₹1,250 per month.

New EPFO pension rules

EPFO has changed the rules for some employees. Now, even if a person works for only 1 month, he will still get the benefit of EPF pension. This rule will help people who do temporary jobs like BPO, logistics, or contract work. Earlier, they used to leave jobs early, withdraw PF, but lose the pension money. This new rule is made for their benefit.

How to check pension status

You can easily check your pension status at home. Go to the EPFO website. Login with your UAN or member ID, password, and captcha. Then go to the VIEW option and click on EPF Passbook. In the passbook, you can see details of the money deposited and EPS contribution. If EPS is active, then you are eligible for pension.

Conditions for EPS benefit

  1. The employee must be an EPF member.
  2. Service should be at least 10 years.
  3. Age should be 58 years to start full pension.
  4. Pension can also start after 50 years, but it will be less.
  5. If pension starts at 60 years, you get 4% extra per year for 2 years.
  6. If service is less than 10 years, you can withdraw pension money at the age of 58 years.
  7. In case of death, the family gets pension benefits.

PF withdrawal rules

  • You can withdraw money from PF in some special cases.
  • If you withdraw before 5 years of service, it is taxable.
  • If you withdraw after 5 years, it is tax-free.
  • Partial withdrawal is allowed for marriage, buying or building a house, medical treatment, or children’s education.
  • The full amount can be withdrawn at retirement or 2 months after leaving the job.
  • EPFO is also working on a system to allow early withdrawal before retirement.