EPF Scheme 2026: New PF Withdrawal Rules Explained

On 29 June 2026, the Ministry of Labour & Employment notified the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 2026, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II — Section 3(i). It is made under the powers granted by the Code on Social Security, 2020 — one of the four labour codes that came into force on 21 November 2025 — and it supersedes the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 1952 with immediate effect.

Every person who was a member (or was required to be a member) of the EPF Scheme, 1952 up to the date it ceased to apply automatically continues as a member of the new 2026 Scheme — there is no fresh enrolment required for existing members. Alongside it, the government also notified the Employees' Pension Scheme, 2026 and the Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, 2026.

Employer and employee contribution rates are unchanged — both remain capped at 12% of wages. The overhaul is concentrated in how and when you can withdraw your PF balance, plus tighter digital-compliance and claim-processing rules.

Every partial withdrawal calculation under EPF Scheme 2026 now runs through two defined terms (Paragraph 46):

Example: if your total PF balance is ₹4,00,000, your Minimum Balance is ₹1,00,000 (25%) and your Eligible Member Balance is ₹3,00,000 — up to all of which can be withdrawn for an approved purpose, subject to the frequency caps below. The minimum amount for any partial withdrawal is ₹1,000.

Per Paragraph 47, the following periods add up towards the 12-month eligibility threshold for partial withdrawal:

• Total service with the same employer before this Scheme applied to the establishment (excluding breaks)
• Periods of membership of the Fund itself
• Periods of membership of a private provident fund in an exempted establishment
• Periods of membership as an employee exempted under Section 143 of the Code, immediately preceding current membership

This continuity is broken if you previously withdrew (severed membership of) your provident fund during that period — which is another reason transferring your PF via Form 13 when changing jobs is usually better than withdrawing.

You can still withdraw 100% of your PF balance on any of these events, largely unchanged from the earlier scheme:

• Retirement after attaining 55 years of age (if you leave service before 55 but turn 55 before your payment is authorised, you remain eligible)
• Retirement due to permanent and total incapacity for work, medically certified
• Immediately before permanent migration from India, or for taking up employment abroad
• Termination due to mass or individual retrenchment
• Termination under a mutual voluntary retirement scheme (VRS)
• Certain establishment closure/transfer scenarios, with actual payment only after a continuous 2-month wait from the date of application

If you take up employment again after such a full withdrawal, you are treated as a fresh member and must requalify for Fund membership — service continuity is not preserved.

In practice, this means members who lose or leave a job now have to rely more heavily on the "special circumstances" partial withdrawal (up to 100% of Eligible Member Balance, twice a financial year) for near-term liquidity, since full account closure takes a full year of continuous unemployment.

• Claims are filed on the designated EPFO portal at the time of leaving service, as before
• If online filing isn't possible for technical reasons, a physical claim can still be forwarded through your employer, who must verify, attest, and forward it within 5 days of receipt
• Payment is made via electronic/digital transfer to a Scheduled Bank, Co-operative Bank (including Urban Co-operative Banks), or post office account
• Claims complete in all respects must be settled and paid within 20 days of receipt by the Commissioner
• Any deficiency in a claim must be communicated to the claimant within 20 days
• If the Commissioner fails, without sufficient cause, to settle a complete claim within 20 days, penal interest at 12% per annum on the benefit amount becomes chargeable

• Contribution rate: 12% of wages each from employer and employee
• Retirement full-withdrawal age: 55 years
• Income-tax treatment: the 5-year continuous service rule for tax-free withdrawal and TDS under Section 192A of the Income Tax Act are separate provisions, unaffected by this Scheme — see our EPF Withdrawal Rules & Tax Guide.
• Nomination, transfer between employers (Form 13-equivalent), and death benefit provisions continue with largely similar structure, now under the Code on Social Security framework

We could not confirm whether a distinct pre-retirement advance provision (previously available from age 54) has been retained as a separate category — near-retirement liquidity needs may now fall under the general "special circumstances" partial withdrawal. Confirm this specific point with your EPFO regional office or the official circular before planning around it.