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The Central Government is planning to give great relief to the Employees Provident Fund Organization i.e. EPFO ​​members. The money of the members of the members in the EPF account, they will be able to withdraw all the money at any time in the coming days. Two officials of the organization said in a media report on the condition of anonymity that the EPFO ​​can relax the withdrawal limit for home, marriage and education. Although the sources did not give any timeline, they said that the government is considering implementing these changes in the retirement savings scheme within a year.

An official told Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity that we do not want to impose any restrictions on the members, this is their money… they should have complete freedom to manage their funds according to their needs. However, the authorities have not shared the details of the proposed changes. At present, members can withdraw the entire amount of EPFO ​​only after reaching the retirement age of 58 years or being unemployed for more than two months.

Currently, what kind of restrictions are on withdrawal

1. At present, there are many restrictions on withdrawing money from EPFO. For the marriage of members, siblings or child, a minimum seven-year service period is required to withdraw up to 50 percent of the employee's contribution and accumulated interest.
2. To buy or build a house, up to 90 percent of the accumulated amount is a limit of withdrawal. Property members should be in the name of their spouse or joint ownership and minimum 3 years of service is required for withdrawal.
3. For post -matriculation education, up to 50 percent of the employee's contribution can be withdrawn with interest, provided that at least seven years in service have been completed.
4. The government may allow the contributors to withdraw the entire amount or a part of it once every 10 years. An official had said that every 10 years, every EPFO ​​will increase the accumulated amount of member… They have to decide what they have to do.

Easy rules required

Experts say that by relaxing the EPF withdrawal limit or making eligibility norms easier, customers, especially lower and middle income people, will be able to get money without borrowing money. Officials say that the existing rules are stringent, including the minimum service period, withdrawal limit, frequency of the limit and maximum documentation conditions. Manmeet Kaur, partner of Karanjawala & Company, said in the Money Control report that the challenge of the proposed changes will have to create the right balance by providing sufficient flexibility to use their EPF if needed, as well as ensure adequate security measures so that the funds will fulfill their primary objective of retirement security.