How to Check EPF Balance Online
Irrespective of the fact that you are a salaried employee or a self-employed one, chances are that you have invested a good portion of your portfolio amount into a PF scheme. Right from the beginning of our careers, we have heard that PFs or Provident Funds are one of the safest investment vehicles available in the market, and since it is offered by registered companies, it is often the most common choice among investors.
However, although each of us might be investing in a provident fund for some time now, chances are that you are unaware of how to check the current balance in your PF account. Thus in today’s article, we will share with you 4 steps to do the same.
What are EPF and EPFO?
Before we dive into the intricacies of how you can check your EPF balance, let us briefly understand what EPF and EPFO stand for.
EPF or Employer Provident Fund is a social security scheme for salaried employees across India, and it is mandatory for every salaried employee to invest in it. Mandated by the Companies Act of 2013, every employee must contribute a fixed portion of their basic salary to their EPF accounts, and their employers need to either match this contribution or increase it.
All EPF accounts in India are overseen and managed by EPFO for Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation which is a government agency enlisted to protect the interests of the working class.
The regular investment to a PF scheme not only guarantees a safe and secure future in terms of pension and retirement benefits but also ensures that your money isn’t just sitting in your account but instead working for you to yield substantially higher returns in the days to come.
1. Using Umang App
Introduced in 2017 by the Government of India as a centralized window for all citizens to easily access central and state government services, the Umang App now boasts a feature where you can conveniently check your EPF (Employers Provident Fund) and PF balance without having to wait for your employer to share the statement at the end of the financial year.
In order to view your balance on the Umang app, you will need to download it from the official app store and register yourself via your Aadhar registered mobile number. Once inside the application, navigate to the “All Services” section and click on EPFO, followed by “View Passbook.” Enter the UAN shared by your employer and wait for the OTP to arrive. Share the OTP and follow the steps described on your screen to get a detailed passbook along with the current EPF balance.
2. Using the EPFO portal
The second option to check your EPF balance is via the use of the EPF portal. The only difference between using the Umang application and EPFO portal is that this is a single service window, whereas you can access multiple services at the same time through Umang.
In order to check your PF balance using the EPFO portal, you will need to enter your UAN or Universal Account Number, followed by the OTP sent to your registered mobile number. Follow the instructions on the screen, and you will be able to view as well as download your EPFO statement along with its current balance. Apart from this, visit this site to learn what a CPF Calculator can do for you in this regard.
Mentioned below are the most significant steps of the process:
- In order to check for the member’s passbook, you will need to visit www.epfindia.gov.in.
- Once on the website, navigate to the “For Employees” section under the “Our Services” tab.
- Follow it up by clicking on “Member’s Passbook” under the “Services” tab.
- You will be redirected to https://passbook.epfindia.gov.in/MemberPassBook/Login.jsp
- In order to access the updated passbook, enter the UAN shared by your employer, followed by the OTP you received via SMS.
However, please note that the EPFO passbook feature is only available to members of establishments that are exempt under the EPF Scheme, 1952. If your organization is not exempt from this list, as if your money is managed by a trust, then you will be required to contact your employer in order to receive an updated PF statement.
3. Through SMS
The third option you can choose to check your PF balance is through SMS notification. However, in order to avail of this feature, you need to make sure that your Unique Account Number (UAN) is pre-registered and activated by EPFO along with your mobile number. Once done, you can get the details of your latest contribution by sending a PF balance request via SMS to 7738299899.
The EPFO facility is offered in English and 9 other regional languages (Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Bengali), and in order to check your latest contribution as well as total balance, you need to type EPFOHO UAN ENG and send it to 7738299899. ENG stands for the first three letters of your language of choice, and it will be ENG for English, MAR for Marathi, and so on.
Along with this, in order to ensure that the correct balance is reported to you, you need to properly seed your bank account details with the EPFO or ask your employer to do the same.
4. By Giving a Missed Call
In lieu of the earlier step, you can also check your PF balance by giving a missed call to 011-22901406. For the same, your phone number needs to be registered with EPFO, and your UAN needs to be preactivated by your employer. Along with this, make sure your UAN is seeded with your bank account and your Aadhar and PAN card details.
Please note that all of the above-mentioned services are provided to every investor free of cost.
Conclusion:
Regularly contributing and investing a part of your income into your EPF account will not only secure your future from sudden financial emergencies but also ensure that you yield high returns in the years to come.
Now that you know how to check your EPF balance go ahead and try it out for yourself.
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