Provident Fund stuck in old company? Here is how to withdraw your money

Know what you will need while applying for your PF withdrawal.

New Delhi: Provident Funds forms a very important chunk of your savings. When changing companies, you can easily seek for a transfer of the PF account. And if you have a UAN number, this transfer gets even more seamless.

However, in many cases it has been seen that the company one had left, closed down, while the employee could not withdraw the PF from that particular account. It is because when a company shuts down, there is nobody to certify your PF account. What to do in sucha a case? How can you withdraw your hard earned money that gets stuck in a company which has now shut down or closed. 

Here is looking at the options and all that you will need while applying for your PF.

Bank KYC

If you have switched a company, and could not transfer your PF, while the company has now shut down, your account remains operative for 36 months. You even get interest on your PF for the said period. However, after the expiry of 36 months, your PF account becomes inactive. Your claim, in order to proceed, requires your company to certify it. In the absence of the certification, your BANK KYC will come to your rescue. For such cases where the company has closed down and there is no one to certify, bank KYC is used for certification.

You will need the following KYC documents

PAN Card
Voter Identity Card
Passport
Ration Card
ESI Identity Card
Driving License
Aadhaar card can also be used for this purpose.

Once you have the required documents for KYC, the Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner or other officer (according to the amount) can take approval of withdrawal or transfer. Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner’s approval is required for fund above Rs 50,000. For amount above Rs 25,000 upto Rs 50,000, accounts officers can give approval. For fund below Rs 25,000, the dealings assistant will give approval.