EPF Balance: Check PF Balance, Withdraw & Invest Smartly

An employer-sponsored retirement savings plan is the Employee Provident Fund (EPF). Both the employee and the company contribute money into a savings account that they can withdraw when they retire or change employment. The interest rate on EPF contributions for the fiscal year 2021-22 is 8.5% p.a., which is lower than the FD rates in India. EPF calculator, like a Fixed deposit plans calculator, is an online tool that assists in computing EPF estimates upon retirement.

SMS, missed calls, EPFO app/Umang app, EPFO Portal/Umang App, and EPFO Portal/Umang App are all now accessible for monitoring your EPF balance. Employees may now instantly see their PF account and PF data online.

Check PF Balance Using EPFO Portal

Before accessing your EPF balance, ensure your employer has approved your Universal Account Number (UAN). A UAN, or unique identifying number, is provided to every employee who participates in the EPF system. Regardless of how many firms they work for, all employees should have just one UAN throughout their working lives. The UAN is crucial since the entire EPF service process is now online. With UAN, you may access your PF account services, such as withdrawals, EPF balance monitoring, and EPF loan application.

After your UAN number is active, follow these steps:

Step 1: Go to the EPFO website. Go to the ‘Our Services’ page and pick the “for employees” option from the drop-down menu.

Step 2: Next, go to the “Services” menu and pick “Member passbook.”

Step 3: You will be redirected to a login page; enter your UAN number and password here. You may access your personal information and account after signing in.

Send an SMS to check your PF balance

After your UAN is linked to your KYC information, send a text message to 7738299899 from your mobile number to check your PF balance. The text of the message should be ‘EPFOHO UAN ENG’.

You must specify your preferred communication language in the SMS. Insert the first three characters of the language you wish to use. To get updates in English, enter EPFOHO UAN ENG as the first three characters of the word.

Put EPFOHO UAN MAR in the search box to get message updates in Marathi. The following languages are supported: English, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Bengali.

Checking the PF Balance through a Missed Call

Give a missed call from your registered mobile number to the allowed phone number to learn about your EPF balance and pf status. If your UAN is connected to your KYC information, you may utilize this service. If you cannot do so, your employer may be able to help you.

• After your UAN has been linked to your KYC data, complete the procedures below:
• Give a missed call to 011-22901406 from your mobile phone.
• You will get an SMS detailing your PF information.

Check your PF balance with the Umang/EPFO app.

• Ensure your business has activated your UAN number before checking your PF status. You may also check your PF data by visiting the Google Play Store and downloading the “m-Sewa app of EPFO.”
• Once you’ve downloaded the app, scroll to ‘Member’ and then ‘Balance/Passbook.’
• Enter UAN and registered mobile number. After you’ve double-checked all of the information, you’ll be able to view your updated EPF balance. It will raise an error if there is a mismatch.
• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has designed an app entitled “Umang.” Umang is one platform that incorporates Aadhaar, gas booking, crop insurance, NPS, and EPF, among other government services. Employees can use this app to check their EPF details.
• The EPFO option is in the app’s settings after installation.

You’ll need a UAN number to join the Employees’ Provident Fund. Individual users may also access the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization’s (EPFO) website to establish their Universal Account Number (commonly known as “UAN”). You may check your Employee Provident Fund (EPF) account when you obtain your 12-digit UAN number. A fixed deposit plans calculator helps estimate how much money you’ll have when you retire. EPF contributions receive an interest rate of 8.5% p.a., which is higher than the FD rates in India. EPFO also lets you check your passbook to see how much money you have in your PF account and your PF data.

Therefore, you must also think of investing in other instruments for resolving your liquidity crunch in the time of crisis. Investing in a fixed deposit can prove to be a good alternate investment for individuals who face a shortage of funds after every few months as they can go for non-cumulative FDs that offer periodic interest payouts. 

Here are some other benefits of investing your EPF amount in an FD:

• Attractive interest rates

Some NBFCS offer the best FD rates up to 8.05% on their fixed deposit plans. These interest rates are at par with the interest rates that you get on your PF balance. 

• Predicting returns

Predicting returns of EPF is not easy as the interest rate varies every year and you must also be aware of your current PF balance (if you have withdrawn some part of your PF amount initially). However, estimating returns of a fixed deposit is quite easy as the interest remains fixed throughout the tenor. You can always use an FD rate calculator to calculate the interest and final maturity amount quickly.

• Flexible tenors

With fixed deposits, you can choose a tenor between 12 and 60 months as per your financial requirements. This will not only meet your liquidity requirements but it also allows you to ladder your savings by investing in multiple FDs.

The only area of concern for the investors who are planning to invest in an FD is that they will have to collect a sizeable corpus first. To provide better investment opportunities to individuals who have just started earning, Bajaj Finance has introduced a special feature known as SDP, i.e. Systematic Deposit Plan. It allows you to start investing in an FD with a monthly deposit of Rs. 5000. The number of monthly deposits can range anywhere from 6 to 48 deposits. 

Each monthly deposit is considered as a separate FD and you can lock them for a period between 12 and 60 months at your convenience. Once the FDs mature, you will start receiving the final maturity amount which includes the interest as well. 

On top of that, these FDs are highly credited for their safety and stability by third-party organizations like ICRA and CRISIL. Therefore, you not only enjoy great returns with these deposits but also benefit from the flexible tenor and payout options.