Employees with multiple Employee Provident Fund accounts can merge them through the official EPFO portal without penalty. According to reports from Mint, this is common when employees change jobs and new employers create separate accounts, or when existing account transfers are missed. The accounts do not merge automatically and require explicit online transfer requests to the active PF account. There is no penalty for multiple EPF accounts, and merging is not mandatory, but it becomes necessary during account closure for retirement fund withdrawal or annuity options.
Before initiating the merger process, employees must complete several prerequisites. As reported by Mint, the KYC process including bank account, PAN, and other details must be finished for all accounts. The Universal Account Number (UAN) must be linked to existing EPF accounts, requiring a three-day waiting period before proceeding with merger steps. The online merger process involves visiting the official EPFO website at unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/, signing in with UAN and password, navigating to the 'one member and one EPF account' link, and completing OTP verification for account access.
The actual merger process involves entering required information including phone number and UAN number, generating OTP for verification, and entering details about earlier EPF accounts for merger. According to Mint, employees must double-check all information entered and select the declaration box before submitting the request. For cases involving two UANs, employees can contact EPFO via email at uanepf@epfindia.gov.in to request deactivation of the previous UAN while submitting claims for fund retrieval or transfer to the current account.
The Employee Provident Fund offers several key benefits for eligible salaried individuals. As reported by Mint, eligibility includes mandatory enrollment for salaried individuals with basic pay and dearness allowance up to ₹15,000. Employees earning above this threshold can opt for voluntary PF (VPF) contributions. The scheme operates through joint employer-employee contributions with current rates of 8.25% per annum, higher than the public provident fund (PPF). Employee contributions up to ₹1.5 lakh annually are exempt under Section 80C of the old tax regime, while employer contributions up to 12% are exempt under both old and new tax regimes.
