How To Link Aadhar Card With EPF Account?
Getting an Aadhar Card has certainly become a major source of concern for Indian residents in the last few months, as the government has planned to make it mandatory to integrate Aadhaar for various accounting purposes such as operating bank accounts, getting a passport, etc. As per UIDAI guidelines, the deadline to link one's Aadhar card to her/his accounts extends till 31st December 2017, post which the respective accounts would be inoperative.
The sole objective behind this measure is to simplify verification and identification processes and to promote transparency in accounts. It has proposed to block any kind of illicit accounts present in the government’s database. Various companies and organizations have arranged both online and offline portals to further help their customers and employees in linking their accounts with AADHAR.
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is a facility which allows the employees of all organizations to endow a certain section of their average monthly salary. This accumulation will eventually help them receive a lump sum amount at the time of their retirement - owing to what they had saved during their career.
Savings to be made under this scheme are auto-debited from the employee's monthly salary. Employees can also earn interest on their savings. The savings-accounts are totally tax free, thus making it a good and secure choice for long term investments. Further, the scheme also covers death of the employee, following which the funds would be granted to her/his legal heir or nominee. Also, the EPF provides extra funds for financial emergencies and for disabilities or severe health conditions.
As a part of the AADHAR verification process, the EPF organization has also instructed its customers to link their AADHARs to their respective accounts, in order to avoid freezing of their accounts. The account holders have been addressed to submit the necessary address and identity proofs to their respective programs. Both online and offline portals have been facilitated for the customers, to provide them with a flexible way of linking their AADHAR. The EPF Aadhaar link is meant to make the employee verification process easier, providing them with options such as biometric and demographic analysis. EPFO has set up grievance-addressing counters where the employees can file a complaint/query against any of the disputes related to her/his PF account.
The EPFO has made many provisions for EPF aadhar linking process to help the employees, and make this process totally hassle-free:
HOW TO VERIFY AADHAR WITH YOUR EPF ACCOUNT ONLINE?
The EPFO provides an absolutely user-friendly online portal to help the associated employees to link and verify their AADHAR to their accounts. Just keep some necessary documents handy, and you're good to go. Follow these simple steps to begin :-
Step 1: Open the EPFO official website, and click on the ‘login’ option at the top.
Step 2: Fill in the UAN (Unique Account Number) and password provided by the EPFO.
Step 3: Once you have checked in by providing your account credentials, you'll come across a ‘manager’ tab. Upon clicking on the tab, select the option KYC (Know Your Customer).
Step 4: After you select the KYC, you will see the assigned fields to fill in the details of your bank, PAN, Aadhaar number, passport details, driving license, election card details and ration card details.
NOTE: Before entering the AADHAR number, be sure that the name enrolled in your Aadhaar is the same as the one registered with your account; otherwise an error might occur. If not, make the proper arrangements to change your details with the employer, as soon as possible.
Step 5: Confirm all the entered information and select the save option below.
After submitting all the details, the EPFO normally takes around 15 business days to verify your details, and link your AADHAR to your account successfully. Once all the details are approved, the employee can view his KYC details in the Approved KYC option.
HOW TO VERIFY AADHAR WITH YOUR EPF ACCOUNT OFFLINE?
The EPFO has also facilitated an offline KYC certification for its customers, who are not familiar with using an online portal. The steps to such are :-
Step 1: Download an AADHAR seeding form through the EPFO website, or get it by visiting your nearest EPFO branch.
Step 2: Fill in your complete details along with the UAN number and AADHAR number. Also self-attested copies of PAN and driving license should be attached to the duly filled form.
Step 3: After filling all the credentials, submit these documents at the nearest Common Services Centre (CSC) or nearest EPFO branch.
The offline verification and EPF AADHAR link also takes a term of around 15 business days. And, at successful verification, a confirmation massage would be sent to the phone number linked with the EPF account.
By taking up these simple initiatives, you could carry out an easy EPF aadhar link procedure.
BENEFITS OF EPF AADHAR LINK
Getting an AADHAR linked with your EPF account also ensures lots of additional features and benefits, such as :-
- Your AADHAR serves as an authoritative proof of your identity and address. By linking it to your EPF account - an easy, flexible and yet secure approach is provided towards the verification of your existence, in any circumstances. The methods of verification include - biometric /demographic and retina scans.
- The EPF Aadhar link provides an additional security to your EPF account, as no other entity except you, can either withdraw or deposit money from/to your account.
- Also the EPF AADHAR link avoids any chances of having a duplicate EPF account with a similar UAN. It certifies you as an Indian resident and thus, helps in further verification process.
- With the help of the EPF Aadhaar link, you can also initiate the closure of your PF account online, without needing the consent of your employer. All necessary information should be filled in an online form.
Conclusion:
Hence, we can conclude that EPFO has not only made it a convenient and efficient process for all the employees to link their AADHARs with their respective PF accounts, but it also assures better safety and services from PF services.
