Switched jobs? Here's why you should transfer your EPF balance instead of leaving it behind

When you change companies or organisations, it is common to end up with multiple EPF accounts linked to the same UAN. While the Unique Universal Account Number can remain the same throughout an individual's career, every new employer may create a separate PF account under it.

These accounts do no merge automatically. To consolidate their retirement savings, an employee needs to request a transfer of the Employees' Provident Fund balance from their old account to the current one.

While there is no rule that makes EPF transfer mandatory after switching jobs, doing so can help keep your retirement savings in one place and make account management easier. Here's why transferring your EPF balance after a job change is generally considered a good idea.

Benefits of transferring your EPF balance after changing jobs

Even though all your previous PF member IDs remain linked to your UAN and continue to earn interest, transferring the balance to your current EPF account offers several benefits:

1. Better account management

• Consolidating your PF accounts helps ensure that all your retirement savings are maintained in one place.
• It prevents complications such as inactive accounts, delays in withdrawals, or difficulties in tracking contributions.

2. Helps preserve continuous service history

• An EPF transfer carries forward your service history from your previous employer. This means your years of service continue to be counted even after you switch jobs, instead of starting from zero with the new employer.
• This is important because EPF withdrawals are tax-free only after five years of continuous service. If you withdraw prior to this, the amount may become taxable and could attract TDS.

3. Easier withdrawals and settlements

• Having a single EPF account makes the withdrawal and final settlement process simpler.
• It eliminates the need to deal with multiple member IDs when accessing your retirement savings.

4. Faster and simpler transfer process

• The EPFO has automated much of the transfer process in recent years.
• If certain conditions are met a, EPF balances can be transferred with ease and minimal manual intervention.

Process to merge EPF accounts

The transfer process has become easier in recent years, as EPFO allows members to submit transfer requests online through its member portal, provided their UAN is activated and linked with Aadhaar.

Step 1: Visit the official website of EPFO, and then sign in using your UAN and password. If you forgot the password, click on the reset option.

Step 2: Select 'one member and one EPF account' link under the online services tab, which will lead you to another window showing your personal details and EPF account of the current employer where the transfer will be credited.

Step 3: Fill in the required information, which includes the registered phone number, UAN number,

Step 4: Click on ‘Generate OTP’. Once you receive the one-time password on your registered mobile number. enter it on the portal for verification.

Step 5: A new window will pop up where you need to enter information about your earlier EPF accounts that you want to merge.

Step 6: Lastly, before clicking ‘Submit’, mark the declaration box.

Your current employer would then need to approve the merger request submitted on the portal. After they approve it, EPFO will process the request and merge the previous EPF accounts with the recent one.

What to do if you have two UANs?

An employee also has the option to merge EPF accounts via email. This is only applicable to those who may have two UANs.

In that case, you can request EPFO to deactivate the previous UAN. To do so, just send an email to uanepf@epfindia.gov.in and mention your current and previous UAN, followed by other necessary details.

Once EPFO verifies and acknowledges the request, the previous UAN will be blocked, while the current one will remain active. Once that is done, the employee would need to submit a fresh claim on the EPFO portal to get the funds transferred to the current UAN.