The Central Government has made major changes in the rules related to Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) for employed people. The six decade old EPF Scheme 1952 has been abolished and now 'EPF Scheme 2026' has been implemented. In this new scheme brought under the Social Security Code 2020, partial withdrawal from the PF account has been made more transparent and easier than before. The biggest relief has been given to those employees who have not completed even one year since joining the new job and they leave the job. Now they will also be able to easily withdraw their PF money. However, to safeguard the future of the employees, the government has also added a new and mandatory rule of 25 percent 'minimum balance'.
Under the new scheme, it will now be mandatory for every PF account holder to maintain a minimum balance in his account. If you understand in simple language, then 25 percent of the total amount deposited in your account (which includes your contribution, company's share and interest received on it) will always be blocked in the account. This is called 'minimum balance'. Excluding this 25 percent amount, the 75 percent money that is left is called 'Eligible Member Balance'. Employees can take out only this part when they need it. The main objective of this rule is that you should have a safe fund at the time of your retirement.
If you have completed 12 months or one year as an EPF member, you can withdraw up to 100 percent of your 'Eligible Member Balance' for your family or personal needs. In the new scheme, it has been clarified for what purposes this money can be withdrawn:
Even under special circumstances, this withdrawal will be allowed after one year of membership. For this, an online application will have to be made on the EPFO portal, which will be approved by the Commissioner after the minimum balance condition in the account is fulfilled.
It is often seen that many people leave work for some reason only after a few months of joining a new job. In the old scheme, such employees faced a lot of difficulties in withdrawing PF money. 'EPF Scheme 2026' has removed this problem. According to the new rules, if an employee leaves the job before the completion of 12 months, he will still be entitled to partial withdrawal. However, the employee will be able to withdraw the amount only to the extent of his 'Eligible Member Balance' available till that day. This step is a big economic relief for those doing short term jobs.
Employees consider the PF amount as their lifetime savings. To ensure that people do not empty their funds by repeatedly withdrawing money, some withdrawal limits have been set in the new scheme.
