At a meeting on Monday, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) made the important decision to permit withdrawals of up to 100% of the “eligible balance” in the PF account, including the employer and employee shares, ahead of Diwali.
At the 238th meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), which was held in the nation’s capital, the decision was made. More than seven crore members will benefit from the measure, which permits 100% EPF withdrawals.
The full withdrawal was previously only permitted in the event of retirement or unemployment. After one month of unemployment, a member could take seventy-five percent of their PF balance, and after two months, the remaining twenty-five percent.
However, the entire amount could be taken out at any time upon retirement.
During its meeting, the CBT, led by Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, made a number of groundbreaking decisions.
EPF members were permitted to withdraw up to 90% of their corpus that was in their EPF account in the event of a partial withdrawal for the acquisition of land, the building or purchase of a new home, or the repayment of an EMI.
Notably, the CBT chose to streamline the EPF scheme’s partial withdrawal provisions in order to improve the quality of life for its members. This was accomplished by combining 13 intricate provisions into a single, streamlined rule that was divided into three categories: housing needs, special circumstances, and essential needs (marriage, education, and illness).
Additionally, the EPFO made the decision to relax withdrawal restrictions. Marriage and education withdrawals are permitted up to five times and ten times, respectively, from the current cap of three partial withdrawals for marriage and education combined.
Additionally, the minimum service requirement for all partial withdrawals has been consistently lowered to only 12 months.
According to a statement released by the labor ministry following the board meeting, a provision has been introduced for 25% of the contributions made to the member’s account to be designated as the “Minimum Balance,” which the member must always maintain.