Provident Fund New Rule: Changed your job? PF transfers to now become easier; here's how

PF Transfer New Rule: The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will now allow professionals to transfer their PF balance from the previous employer more easily to a new updated account of their current employer.

Earlier, employees used to find it difficult to transfer their PF accumulations from their previous employer to a new provident fund account when they join a different company.

However, with the new PF transfer rule, the experience is going to be simple and seamless.

PF Transfer Rule: What's changed?

On September 18, a circular from the Union Labour Ministry notified new PF rules.

Until now, Annexure K was only shared between PF offices and was made available to members only on their request. A reform has been introduced that now enables members to directly download Annexure K in PDF format from the Member Portal itself.

“With a view to enhance transparency and ensure greater convenience for PF members, the Transfer Certificate in Annexure K has now been made available for download in the Member Portal for convenience,” it said.

This means that employees can now get access to Annexure K online.

What is Annexure K?

Annexure K is a key document issued by the EPFO to transfer PF accumulations from one account to another when an employee changes jobs. This transfer certificate ensures that PF accumulations and pension service are transferred to the new provident fund account.

Annexure K includes key information about the employee including member's data, PF balance with interest, complete service history, job details and joining and exit dates of the EPF member.

“Annexure K is a EPF document which mentions the member details, his PF accumulations with interest, service history, Date of joining, and Date of exit and employment details including past and present MID. This document is required by the Field Office/Trust to effect a transfer in,” as per an X post by EPFO.

Previously, when employees changed jobs, their PF accounts were transferred to the new employer's PF office through Form 13 online. After the transfer, a Transfer Certificate (Annexure K) was generated by the previous PF office and sent to the new PF office.

The new PF transfer rules will bring the benefits to members, including the ability to track the status of transfer applications online, ensuring full transparency and allowing members to easily verify their PF transfers. Confirmation that the PF balance and service period are correctly updated in the new PF account, the Ministry of Labour and Employment said in a press release.

How to access and download Annexure K?

The Annexure K can be accessed and downloaded online from the EPFO member portal. Here's how:

• Log in to the EPFO member portal using your details
• Go to online services
• Select Track Claim Status
• Click on Download Annexure K from the available option
• Your file will be downloaded. Save it for future use.