When you change jobs, it often happens that you have multiple Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) accounts linked to the same UAN. Although your Unique Universal Account Number (UAN) may remain the same throughout your career, every new employer can create a different PF account under it.
These accounts do not merge automatically, and employees have to request the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) to transfer the balance of the old account to the existing active account. Consolidating your PF accounts in one place ensures that all your retirement savings are in one place. This also avoids problems like inactive account, delay in withdrawing money, or difficulty in tracking contributions.
What is EPF?
EPF is a government saving scheme whose objective is to provide financial security to salaried employees after retirement. Under this scheme controlled by EPFO, both the employee and the employer contribute 12 percent of the employee’s basic salary and dearness allowance to the EPF. The interest rate of EPF for the financial year 2025-26 is 8.25 percent per annum, which is applicable on all contributions made between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026. It is calculated every month on the closing balance of the EPF account, but it is deposited annually at the end of the financial year. The interest received on this is generally tax-free.
Process to merge PF account
The transfer process has become easier in recent years, as EPFO now allows members to send transfer requests online through its member portal, provided their UAN is active and linked to Aadhaar.
- Step 1: Visit the official website of EPFO, and then sign in using your UAN and password. If you have forgotten the password, click on the reset option.
- Step 2: Select ‘One Member – One EPF Account’ link under ‘Online Services’ tab; This will take you to another window where your personal information and the EPF account of the existing employer will be visible, to which the transfer will be done.
- Step 3: Fill the required information, including registered phone number and UAN number.
- Step 4: Click on ‘Generate OTP’. Once you receive the one-time password on your registered mobile number, enter it on the portal for verification.
- Step 5: A new window will open where you have to enter information about your previous EPF accounts which you want to merge.
- Step 6: Finally, before clicking on Submit, tick the declaration box.
After this, your existing employer will have to approve the merger request submitted on the portal. After their approval, EPFO will process the request and merge the previous EPF accounts with the existing account.
What to do if you have two UANs?
Employees also have the option to merge EPF accounts through email. This applies only to those who have two UANs. In such a case, you can request EPFO to deactivate the previous UAN. To do this, simply send an email to [email protected] and provide your current and previous UAN, along with other required information. Once EPFO verifies and accepts the request, the previous UAN will be blocked, while the existing UAN will remain active. After this happens, the employee will have to submit a new claim on the EPFO portal to get the money transferred to the existing UAN.
Can you withdraw EPF through UPI?
Although the facility to withdraw EPF through UPI is not yet available for employees, it may become a reality soon. The Union Labor Ministry is reportedly developing a system that will allow eight crore Employee Provident Fund (EPF) members to withdraw their money directly using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). It has been said in the report that the target has been set to start this project by April 2026. Its objective is to provide faster access to money, simplify the process of withdrawing money and increase the efficiency of service to a great extent.