If you are going abroad for work, then it is necessary to manage your Employees Provident Fund account before leaving. After your job is over in India, you are not able to contribute to the EPF, which makes the withdrawal a choice. According to the EPF Act, PF is finally settled in 58 years after retirement.

However, premature withdrawal is allowed in case of unemployed for more than two months. People shifting abroad can immediately withdraw the amount of their EPF, no matter what their age. The employee contributes to the total claimable amount, the contribution of the employer and the interest earned.

EPF extract process

To withdraw money, employees have to submit an EPF withdrawal form, which can be obtained from the employer or downloaded from the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) portal. If the Universal Account Number (UAN) is linked to Aadhaar, the Aadhaar-based evacuation form can be submitted directly to the EPFO ​​office without the approval of the employer. Withdrawal requests can also be done online by choosing the reason for "going abroad" through the UAN portal and submitting the necessary documents.

Should you maintain your EPF account?

For temporarily people going abroad, it can be beneficial to keep the EPF account active. If no contribution is made for three years, the EPF account becomes inactive, but the account holder continues to get interest on it till the age of 58 years.

Social security contribution abroad

In some countries, foreign employees need to contribute to their social security system, even if they are working in an Indian company. However, India has Social Security Agreement (SSA) with countries like Australia, Canada and Germany. Employees going to these countries can apply for Coverage Certificate (COC) from EPFO, which exempts them from local social security contribution - provided their Indian employer continues to contribute EPF.