There are instances where the employee is added to the EPF (Employee Provident Fund) list much later and in the process, they do not get a UAN (Universal Account Number). It is also possible if you started working before 2014 and your employer did not open a UAN. If you are simply not aware of your UAN number, you will be able to find in on your payslip along with the PF number.

Advantages of having a UAN

If you do not have a UAN, it is advisable to get one for ease of EPF withdrawal transaction. This will be easier if you are presently employed and do not wish to withdraw it in the near future. Having a UAN makes it easier to withdraw EPF as it has the online provision and one will not need to submit any physical documents.

The purpose of UAN is that you will be able to access your PF balance, check and withdraw it at any time without the help of your employer. Even applying for a loan against the PF balance becomes easy. You can ask your company's HR to open one for you.

You can still withdraw your EPF without UAN

Just in case it is not possible to apply for a UAN, you can withdraw EPF without UAN. All you need to do is fill a PF withdrawal form and submit it with the regional provident fund office. You can find out the jurisdiction of your PF office with the beginning alphabets of the alpha-numeric PF account number (that indicates the state and location) that you can find easily mentioned on your monthly salary slip.

However, without a UAN, you will have to follow the old method of PF withdrawal that involves the submission of identity attestation by a bank manager or gazette officer or magistrate or previous employer, as the case may be.

Note that there will be no reduction in the value of the PF for lack of a UAN. Not having a UAN just makes the process of withdrawal more time-consuming.

How much can you withdraw?

You can withdraw your EPF money totally or partially. The full EPF withdrawal can be done after the employee's retirement or if he remains unemployed for more than 2 months. In addition, if you have been unemployed for 1 month, you can also withdraw 75 per cent of your total money from the pension fund.

In case of partial withdrawals of the amount of the EPF, it is limited to certain circumstances. You can partially withdraw up to 50 per cent of the EPF money in case of education, purchase of land, built house or marriage.

Job Change

If you have changed your job in the past, you will have to get the balance transferred from the previous PF account to the new one. This is because PF accounts are created within the jurisdiction of a PF office that the place of employment is located in which is why a UAN was introduced to align all the accounts to one.

In this case, however, you will have to download and submit Form-13 to the PF office where the previous PF account was maintained so that the amount can be transferred to your current account.

Submit EPF Composite Claim Form

If you wish to withdraw the EPF amount partially or fully for any reason, you will have to submit the EPF Composite Claim Form. The CC forms now come in two types;

• Aadhaar based
• Non-Aadhar based

• If you have downloaded the new composite claim form based on Aadhaar, you can complete it and send your PF withdrawal request directly to the PF regional office,
• without certification from the employer.
  If you have downloaded the non-Aadhaar composite claim form, you must complete and certify it.
• To avoid fraud and to ensure that no one else on your behalf withdraws your money, the PF office requires identity certification.
• The compound complaint form can be certified by a referral officer, any bank manager or a magistrate.
• You must then submit the form to the competent office of EPFO.

Since you do not have a UAN number, your Aadhaar may not be seeded with the PF account. The non-Aadhaar based CC form required attestation of the employer before submission to the PF office. Only in certain cases like the closure of the place of employment, the attestation from the employer will be exempt.