The EPF Scheme, 1952 no longer governs your provident fund. It was replaced by the EPF Scheme, 2026, notified on 29 June 2026 under the Code on Social Security, along with new EPS and EDLI schemes. Every article you find quoting paragraph numbers from the 1952 scheme is describing rules that no longer apply.
Several of the changes are significant, and two of them will surprise people who withdrew from PF in the past. Here is the current position.
What Changed
Thirteen withdrawal provisions were consolidated into three categories: Essential Needs (illness, education, marriage), Housing Needs, and Special Circumstances. Instead of matching your situation to one of thirteen narrow clauses, you now identify which of three buckets it falls into.
A minimum balance rule was introduced. You must leave 25% of your balance in the fund. Up to 75% is accessible for eligible partial withdrawals. This is new, and it means a full emptying of the account through partial withdrawals is no longer possible.
A uniform 12-month service requirement now applies to most withdrawals, including medical ones, replacing a patchwork of different qualifying periods.
Waiting periods after leaving a job got substantially longer. Full and final settlement following unemployment now requires 12 months, up from two. Final pension withdrawal requires 36 months, up from two.
That last change is the one worth absorbing. Treating PF as a fund you can empty a couple of months after resigning no longer works.
Some limits were raised. The education withdrawal limit went from three times to ten times, and the marriage limit from three times to five times.
Before You Can Claim Anything
Four prerequisites, and failures here cause most rejections:
- An activated UAN with a working registered mobile number
- Aadhaar seeded and verified against the UAN, with name, date of birth and gender matching exactly
- Bank account and IFSC seeded and verified
- Date of exit updated by your previous employer
The name-matching requirement is stricter than people expect. A middle name present on Aadhaar and absent on the EPFO record is enough to fail a claim. Fix the mismatch before filing, not after being rejected. Our guide to checking your EPF balance covers where to verify these.
The Forms
- Form 19 — final PF settlement
- Form 10C — EPS pension withdrawal benefit
- Form 31 — partial advance
- Form 13 — transfer from a previous employer, revamped in 2025
All are filed through the Member e-Sewa portal. Online nomination and filing is now the formally recognised route, and physical forms are being phased out.
Choose the right form for the purpose. Filing Form 19 when you needed Form 31 is a straightforward rejection.
How Long It Takes
EPFO’s settlement standard is 20 days, and there is genuine teeth behind it now: unjustified delay attracts 12% penal interest, recoverable from the salaries of Regional PF Commissioners.
Better still, the auto-settlement limit was raised from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh. Claims within that limit for illness, education, marriage and housing are processed automatically, typically within three days. For most people making a partial withdrawal, this is now a matter of days rather than weeks.
Tax: The Number Most Sites Get Wrong
TDS on PF withdrawal, under what was section 192A and is renumbered section 392(7) under the Income Tax Act, 2025 with effect from 1 April 2026:
- No TDS if the withdrawal is ₹50,000 or less
- No TDS if you have five years or more of continuous service, regardless of amount
- Otherwise 10% with PAN
- Otherwise 20% without PAN
That last figure matters. A great many Indian sites still state 30%, or the oddly precise 34.608%, for withdrawals without PAN. Those rates were superseded — the Finance Act 2023 replaced the maximum marginal rate with the 20% rate under section 206AA, effective 1 April 2023. If someone is telling you a third of your PF will vanish for want of a PAN, they are working from stale information.
Form 15G (under 60) or 15H (60 and over) can prevent TDS where your total income falls below the exemption limit.
Note that five years of continuous service can include service with a previous employer if you transferred the balance rather than withdrawing it — another argument for filing Form 13 instead of cashing out between jobs.
Why Claims Get Rejected
- Name, date of birth or gender mismatch between UAN, Aadhaar and bank records
- Bank account not seeded or verified, or an incorrect IFSC
- Date of exit not updated by the employer — extremely common
- Incomplete KYC
- The wrong form for the purpose
- The service-period condition not met
One reassurance: with Aadhaar-based e-KYC and an activated UAN, most claims no longer need employer attestation. The old assumption that you must chase a former employer for a signature is out of date for the majority of cases.
Should You Withdraw at All?
Worth pausing on, given the new waiting periods. PF earns 8.25% for FY 2025-26, tax-free at that stage, which is difficult to match elsewhere at comparable risk. Transferring the balance to a new employer using Form 13 preserves both the compounding and your continuous-service record for tax purposes.
Withdrawing between jobs resets that clock and can create a tax liability that transferring would have avoided. This is procedure and published rules rather than financial advice, and anything substantial is worth putting to a qualified professional who knows your full position.
We cover Indian financial and government admin factually at Techleez com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the EPF Scheme 1952 still in force?
No. It was replaced by the EPF Scheme, 2026, notified on 29 June 2026 under the Code on Social Security.
How much of my PF can I withdraw partially?
Up to 75%. A minimum of 25% of the balance must remain in the fund.
How long after leaving a job can I withdraw fully?
Twelve months for full and final settlement, up from two months previously. Final pension withdrawal requires 36 months.
What TDS applies without a PAN?
20%, not the 30% or 34.608% still quoted on many sites. With PAN it is 10%, and there is no TDS below ₹50,000 or after five years of continuous service.
How fast are claims settled?
The standard is 20 days, with 12% penal interest for unjustified delay. Auto-settlement now covers claims up to ₹5 lakh, typically processed in three days.
Do I need my employer to approve the claim?
Usually not. With Aadhaar-based e-KYC and an activated UAN, most claims route without employer attestation.
Fold Smith
Fold Smith is a technology journalist and the lead editor of The Techleez, an India-first publication that decodes technology, digital payments, streaming and online culture for everyday readers. From UPI and fintech explainers to OTT streaming guides, Android tips and online-safety checklists, he personally tests the apps, tools and services featured on the site before recommending them. His focus is practical, research-backed guidance that helps Indian readers make smarter digital decisions — spend less, stream better and stay safe online. When he is not writing, he is usually tracking NPCI circulars, first-day-first-show box office numbers, or the next big OTT premiere.
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