The Employee Provident Fund or EPF is a scheme wherein all salaried people save a certain amount of their salary. Every salaried person opting for the scheme is given a Unique Identification Number or UAN, which remains constant throughout the job. The contribution to the employee provident fund scheme account is made both by the employee and employer.


Here, are the five important features you should know:

  1. As mentioned above, both employee and employer contribute to the EPF account. A salaried person has to contribute 12% of the salary, and the Employer has to match the amount.
  2. The EPF is directly governed by the Government of India. Hence, it is one of the safest investment options. A nominee appointed by you will get the amount in case of death.
  3. Your EPF amount is exempt from taxes. On the first level, contributions of up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs are exempt under Section 80C of the Indian Tax Act, 1961. The second and third exemptions are on the interest earned and at the time of withdrawal.
  4. Every person can withdraw the EPF amount in entirety at the age of retirement, or when they stop working as a salaried employee. You can even withdraw a partial amount in case you need the money to meet some immediate expenses.
  5. It is very easy to view your EPF status. First you must know what is uan number and then You have to learn how to activate your UAN number online. Once activate, log onto https://www.epfindia.gov.in/ and use your UAN as Login ID. You can edit your profile at any time. Just remember, your EPF account is linked to the Aadhaar card.

Hope this will help you and you can check and transfer your EPF contribution online easily.