The Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) allows individuals to only have one Universal Account Number (UAN). Think of UAN as an umbrella account that can house multiple member IDs. When you switch jobs, your member ID changes but your UAN remains the same.
However, in some cases, you may be allotted a new UAN despite already having one. This can happen if your previous employer did not mention in its record (electronic challan cum return) that you have left the company or if you make an incorrect declaration when joining a new company.
It’s crucial to ensure that you retain a single UAN when switching jobs. That’s because there’s a tax waiver on interest earned in the EPF account if you contribute to it for at least five years. If you get a new UAN when switching jobs, it will start treating money from your new job as fresh contributions.
EPFO addressed the issue in 2016
The EPFO released a circular addressing this issue in 2016. It said that in case two UANs have been issued, the member should apply to transfer money from the previous EPF account to the new one.
It would periodically identify cases in which funds were transferred from the old account to the new one and would deactivate or close the old account – “even when no request has been received from the member”.
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In case the previous employer was still making payments to the old account, EPFO said, its system would recognise the active UAN against the deactivated one and redirect the funds to the active account.
Why it’s important to have just one account
Anurag Jain, founder of By the Book Consulting, said he had three UANs at one point. However, since the EPFO introduced Aadhaar linking, there have been fewer cases of this as the system automatically detects if someone with an existing UAN is trying to open a new account.
Those with multiple UANs must log in to their old account and transfer the funds to the new one, said Jain. The process can be completed online, but members must ensure their KYC details are correct when doing so. If this isn’t done, “employees may have issues in claiming the money separately,” said Vishwanath BG, associate director, Mercer Wealth India Pvt Ltd.
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Sometimes, a new employer creates a new UAN with Aadhar linking, but the member forgets to connect their old UAN, which was not linked to Aadhar, to the new one. In such cases, the EPFO may start treating the new UAN as a fresh member, said Adarsh Vir Singh, founder of Nidhi Niyojan. In such cases, benefits such as pension – which depends on the duration over which a member contributes to the scheme – may be affected. He advised people with multiple UANs to transfer their old balances to the new Aadhar-linked account to ensure continuity.
How to merge UAN accounts
Kunal Kabra, chief executive of Kustodian Life, said that to merge two UAN accounts, you simply need to log in to their current UAN account, navigate to the ‘Online Services’ section, and select ‘One Member One EPF Account’.
Next, enter the UAN of the account you want to merge. You’ll then need to choose whether to obtain an attestation from your previous or current employer. Once all details are filled in and authenticated using Aadhaar, you can submit the merge request.
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“After authentication, download Form-13. Also, check the status in ‘Track Claims’ and take a screenshot. Drop an email to the employer with a screenshot for quick approval,” said Kabra. He added, “If the PF account was created before 2014 and lacks a UAN, you can find the member ID and use it to initiate the merging process.”
Alternatively, you can email [email protected] with details of your current and previous UAN. “If your UANs are merged but your PF balance has not been transferred, you need to initiate a request for it on the EPFO website,” said Kabra.