Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is a government-backed retirement savings scheme that targets workers from organized sector. The fund includes contributions by both employers and employees. The EPF is managed by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) and the interest rate is declared every year by the statutory body under the Employees’ Provident Fund Act, 1956.
You can avail the EPFO services using your Universal account number (UAN) through Umang, a centralised mobile app of the government. You can download the app from the Google Play Store/App Store. You can check your PF balance and download the passbook on this app. You can also check the balance online through the EPFO website, through SMS, or by giving missed calls through a registered number.
However, if you don’t know your UAN, you can still check your EPF account balance through SMS and missed calls. But you should always have your UAN number with you, else you may face trouble in the need of urgency when you want to withdraw your money or transfer from one member ID to other.
To access the EPF passbook, you should make sure that your UAN is activated by the employer. Remember, EPFO provides the UAN number but it is the company where you are working that verifies the UAN number.
Here are the steps to check EPF balance UAN:
Online EPF Balance check:
Using Umang app
Employees can check their EPF balance on mobile phones using the Umang app. The government launched this app to provide access to various government services in a single place. You can view EPF Passbook, raise claims and even track claims using the app. To get started, you need to complete a one-time registration using your phone number and UAN number.
Through SMS
You can check your EPF balance without UAN through SMS service, But before that, you should be sure that your mobile number is registered on the UAN portal. You just have to type EPFPHO UAN ENG and send it to 7738299899 from your registered mobile number. ‘ENG’ is the first three characters of the preferred language. So, if you want to receive the message in Gujarati, then type in EPFOHO UAN GUJ. This facility is available in 10 languages English (default), Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Bengali.
Through missed call
Also, one of the easiest ways to check your Employee Provident Fund Balance is through a missed call from your mobile number registered on the UAN portal. You just have to give a missed call on 011-22901406. Make sure that your UAN is connected with your bank account number, Aadhaar, and PAN. You can also ask your company HR to seed them for you.
If you want to withdraw their PF money, employees can either submit a physical application or an online one but for this, and activated UAN number, linked to one’s Aadhar card, is mandatory.