Top News

If you’ve had a gap in your employment and are wondering about the impact on your EPFO Pension, here’s a breakdown of how things work according to the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) rules.

To be eligible for EPFO pension (EPS), you typically need to have worked for 10 continuous years in an organization. This is a requirement for receiving pension benefits at the time of retirement.

If you face a gap in employment (e.g., losing a job for a few years), you may wonder how this will affect your pension eligibility. Here's what to do:

• Retain Your UAN (Universal Account Number): When you start a new job, continue using the same UAN that you had during your previous job. This ensures that the contributions from your new employer get added to your existing EPF account.
• No Need to Start Afresh: The gap will not reset the clock. As long as you retain the same UAN, the years of service you completed in your previous job will be counted towards the total duration required for pension benefits. This means you won’t need to complete another 10 years of service from scratch.

If you do not complete 10 years of service and do not plan to continue working:

• Option to Withdraw: You can withdraw the amount deposited in your pension account.
• No Interest on Pension Amount: In this case, you will not receive any interest on the pension amount, but the profit is calculated based on a specific formula that includes your total service period and last salary.

This allows flexibility, but it’s important to note that full pension benefits are typically available only if the 10-year service requirement is met.

Keep your UAN number active, and your previous contributions will count even if there's a gap before your new employment.