Why withdrawal of money from your PF is fraught with challenges
Funding the purchase of your dream house is a tough ask, particularly if you are a salaried employee. For one, property prices seem to be on the rise always. Two, savings from mutual fund investments and bank fixed deposits alone may not be sufficient as there will always be expenses that are often unaccounted for.
Most salaried employees then decide to dip into their employee provident fund (EPF) savings, usually as a last resort. But that is easier said than done. Withdrawing funds from your PF can be a nightmarish experience for many employees.
Ask 35-year-old Asleen Kaur, who tried that 15 months back. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) denied her claim. Reason? Her last name in the EPFO records was different from that of her other documents such as PAN, Aadhaar and bank account details.
To be sure, EPFO lets its members, or subscribers as they are known, update their names online in a few steps: key in the revised name under ‘manage details’ section and upload supporting documents. The request for verification is then submitted both to the EPFO and your employer. Easy, right? That’s what Kaur thought but she was in for a rude shock.
“I have been trying to update my records for close to 15 months without any success. My documents are in place but the request keeps getting rejected for unclear reasons. Despite multiple follow-ups with the EPFO, both online thorough emails and phone calls and physical visits to the office, this issue hasn’t been resolved yet," said the Bengaluru-based communication consultant.
Kaur has deferred her house buying decision until she can get her hard-earned PF money. In distant Jaipur, Anil Sharma, 42, received more money from his EPF than he intended to withdraw. “Despite
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