What is Minimum Balance and Eligible Member Balance?
For the first time in the EPF Scheme 2026, it has been made mandatory to maintain a minimum balance in the PF account. Minimum balance means that at least 25% of the total amount deposited in your PF account - including your share, company share and interest - will always be blocked. That is, if there is a deposit of Rs 1 lakh in your account, then there will be a minimum balance of Rs 25,000 which you cannot withdraw immediately.
Eligible Member Balance is the amount that is left after deducting this 25% Minimum Balance. The 75% amount left after deducting 25% (Minimum Balance) of the total deposit is called Eligible Member Balance. This is the amount that you can withdraw from your PF account. If you have Rs 1 lakh in your account, then the Eligible Member Balance will be Rs 75,000 and you can withdraw the same amount. A minimum balance of Rs 25,000 is to be maintained.
How much money can be withdrawn on a job less than 1 year?
The old scheme had different minimum service periods for different needs, going up to 7 years. But in the new EPF scheme 2026, this period has been reduced to 12 months for all cases. If you leave a job for less than 1 year, you can withdraw the Eligible Member Balance (i.e. 75% of the amount), but not the entire amount. The remaining 25% will remain in the account as a minimum balance and you will be able to withdraw it only after 12 months of leaving the job.
However, if you have to leave the job under special circumstances (such as company closure, disaster, epidemic, persistent unemployment), you can withdraw 75% of the amount immediately. Moreover, women employees do not have to wait for this 12 months when they leave the job for marriage.
What do you need money for?
The reasons for withdrawal in the new EPF scheme have also been simplified. Earlier there were 13 types of partial withdrawal categories, which have now been reduced to 3 large categories. After the completion of 12 months of membership, you can withdraw 100% of the Eligible Member Balance for the following needs:
Necessary requirements: Treatment of self or family, higher education of children, marriage.
Accommodation: Buying a new house / flat, getting a plot, building a house or renovating, repaying a home loan.
Special circumstances: Natural disasters, epidemics, company closures.
Keep in mind, withdrawals can only be made 10 times for education, 5 times for marriage and 5 times for housing.
What is the use of minimum balance?
Why did the government implement the rule of minimum balance? In fact, according to EPFO data, 50% PF members had a balance of less than Rs 20,000 in their account and 75% had a balance of less than Rs 50,000. Due to frequent withdrawals, low-paid employees were not able to take advantage of the high interest rate (8.25%) of EPFO and the retirement money was exhausted.
Now the minimum balance i.e. 25% of the amount will be safe in the account, so that some part of your total savings is always saved. It is like a protective shield for old age. You can withdraw 75% of the amount, the remaining 25% will continue to grow with interest until retirement. Also, if you do not withdraw PF even after 12 months have passed after leaving the job and join another job, your UAN and PF membership remain intact and your service period also continues to be added.
Other Important Changes You Need to Know About
The digital process: In the new scheme, more importance has been given to online claims, e-passbook and UAN linkage. The entire process is paperless.
Quick Claim Settlement: PF claims should now be settled in 3 days and pension claims in 20 days. 12% interest will have to be paid annually on the delay.
Withdrawal from UPI: Soon you will also be able to withdraw money from PF through UPI.
The core EPF benefits are the same: Basic benefits such as 12% employee contribution, interest rate, tax rules and minimum pension of ₹1,000 remain unchanged.
Conclusion
The EPF Scheme 2026 has made the rules of withdrawal for employees leaving the job very easy. If you leave the job for less than 1 year, you can still withdraw the Eligible Member Balance (75% of the total amount) from your PF account. 25% will remain in the account as Minimum Balance and you can withdraw it only after 12 months or in special situations like retirement, permanent disability, and leaving the country.
This rule ensures the availability of money at the time of need along with keeping your retirement corpus safe. For all the latest updates on PF withdrawal, changes in rules and accurate news on personal finance, keep reading timesbull.com.