Employee Provident Fund or EPF is surely a good way to save money for future and the best part is that the interest rate is higher on EPF savings. There is a fixed percentage of salary that the employee contributes towards salary and in addition to this, the same amount is also contributed by the employer.
In past, the employee had to wait for the end of the year to get the EPF statement so that they could verify and track the deposits. This was surely inconvenient and people were waiting for a change which would help in ensuring a real-time update. The fact is that the EPFO has drastically improved the platform and all the services have been made available online for the people.
It is now possible to check the passbook in real time and this gives a better idea of EPF contributions. This not only helps in planning the retirement better but another advantage EPF Passbook is that you already have an idea about the amount that you can withdraw even before your retirement. This amount can be used during critical illness, education of children, buying or building a house and to pay off the home loan as well.
Today, in this article, we are going to talk about the process of logging in and downloading the EPFO Member Passbook. Below are all the details about the process.
Pre-Requisites to Download EPFO Member Passbook
There are certain pre-requisites to download the EPFO Member Passbook and below are all those pre-requisites to download the passbook
- You must know the UAN Number and if you are not aware of UAN Number then you can use Know Your UAN Status on EPFO Member Portal to get the UAN Number.
- Your UAN must be active and if your UAN is inactive then you can activate the UAN by navigating to Activate UAN on EPFO Member Portal.
- It should also be noted that it takes about 6 hours for the passbook to be generated after registration on EPFO Portal. So, if you activate your UAN just now, then you need to wait 6 hours to check the Passbook.
- If you change the password to EPFO Portal, then you need to wait for 6 hours before you can login to EPF Passbook Portal and check your Passbook.
These were some of the important points that you must be aware of before you plan to check your Passbook. Now, we will talk about the process to download the passbook from the EPFO portal. In the latter part of the page, we will also discuss about the different components of the passbook.
Steps to Login and Download your Passbook
Follow the steps listed below to login and download your passbook.
=> EPFO Portal – Since the services are offered by EPFO, you need to visit the EPFO website to begin the process of downloading the passbook. If you are not aware of the URL for EPFO Portal is https://epfindia.gov.in/site_en/index.php
=> Members Portal – From the EPFO Portal, you need to access the employee portal. To do so, you can click on Our Services and select For Employee from the menu displayed. A member portal will now be displayed and on this page, scroll down a little to find the section for Services.
From services select Member Passbook. Remember that the member UAN/Online Services is to claim and transfer PF and it will not be able to display your EPF Passbook. To navigate directly to the link for EPF Passbook, you can also visit https://passbook.epfindia.gov.in/MemberPassBook/Login.jsp
- Login to Portal – Once you are on the Employee Portal, you need to enter your UAN and Password along with Captcha code to login to the portal. It should be noted that you will only be able to login once it has been 6 hours since the last reset password request.
- Generating Passbook – After logging in, you will be taken to the dashboard. On the left-hand side of the page, you will notice a column which would have different member ID displayed for you.
To generate your passbook, simply click on the Member ID that you would like to generate passbook for. We would recommend you to click on the latest Member ID as it would be the consolidated passbook. The passbook will now be generated on the page. You can download and print the Passbook as it is available in PDF Format.
Understanding EPF Passbook
You have now downloaded the passbook and you can now interpret the information listed on the passbook. The passbook is quite easy to understand but here are the details listed on the passbook
- Establishment Name and ID–This is the code for the company that you work in and the name of the company that the PF account is with.
- Member Name and ID– This column displays the name of the PF Account holder and the PF number.
- Office Name– This is the location of the PF office where the account exists.
- Employee Share– This amount indicates that the total contribution made by the employee. The interest component is added to this and you can refer to the table in the passbook for detailed transaction summary.
- Employer Share– The employer contributes an equal amount towards the Provident Fund as Employee does. The Employer share is divided into two parts. One is the employer share PF and the second one is Pension Scheme. So the employer share would indicate the amount contributed by the employer towards the EPF.
- Pension Contribution– As mentioned in the point above, the Amount paid by the employer is divided into equal sections. This amount indicates the contribution towards the Pension Scheme.
This was all about the EPF passbook and process to generate the EPF passbook. Before we conclude this article, we would like to share the answers to some of the frequently asked questions. This would help you in getting an answer to the general queries.
Frequently Asked Questions
My contribution is less, Can I increase my PF Contribution?
Yes, you can increase your EPF Contribution and that is specifically known as voluntary PF contribution. In such a case, you can increase the EPF Contribution and that is also tax deductible. Apart from this, you must also note that the employer contribution will be equated to your contribution but there would be additional deductions from your salary for the amount that is equal to the increase in employer share.
To make voluntary PF contribution, you can get in touch with the HR of your organization and they will be able to help you with the process.
I am unable to check my Passbook, What could be the reason?
If you are not able to check the passbook then you must refer to the section which talks about pre-requisites of checking the passbook. There are chances that you would have changed your password a few hours ago and it takes 6 hours for your password to be synced between the UAN Account and Passbook account. You need to ensure that there are no access or password issues. If you believe there are some other technical issues then you can get in touch with EPF Helpdesk.
I can’t remember my password for checking the Passbook. Help me Please!
The password to check the passbook is the same password which you use to login to your UAN Account. If you remember your UAN password then you can use the same one to login or else you can go ahead and reset your password by going to the Forgot Password utility on the Members Portal of EPFO. The link for the page is https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/
Also, you would have to wait for 6 hours after resetting your password before you are able to login to your account.
The amount of EPF is not reflected for the present month. What needs to be done?
For every month, the amount is reflected by the 25th of every month. There could be a delay in the entry because of the weekend of any other bank holiday. In such a case, you can wait for the working day after 25th. Post this, the amount would be credited. If you see that the amount has not been credited for a long time then it is advisable to check with the HR or EPFO. They will be able to give you a better picture of the same.
The interest component of this quarter has not been credited yet. Who can help me?
The interest component is decided on a quarterly basis but it is credited on the annual basis. This follows the financial calendar which means that the financial cycle of April to March is followed. It takes a couple of months after March before the interest is calculated and credited to your EPF Account. The entry of same is reflected as Interest Upto 31/03/20XX. This component represents the date until which the interest has been credited.
For any other query, you can contact the EPFO Helpdesk by dialling 1800 11 8005 during the regular official hours.
Santosh Kumar is a Professional SEO and Blogger, With the help of this blog he is trying to share top 10 lists, facts, entertainment news from India and all around the world.