EPF Form 10C: Meaning, Benefits & Eligibility

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is a government-backed retirement scheme for salaried employees earning Rs. 15,000 or more in a month. The EPF Organization (EPFO) is responsible for managing this fund.Under the scheme, the employees contribute 12% of the monthly salary (basic + dearness allowance) to the EPF account. The employer also contributes 3.67% of the employees salary to EPF and 8.33% to EPS (Employee Pension Scheme).EPF contributions earn a fixed rate of interest which is reviewed by the government every year. EPS contributions, on the other hand, help employees receive a pension after retirement.However, if an employee is unable to find another job after leaving the current job, there is also an option to withdraw the accumulated pension amount and still retain EPFO membership by using Form 10C.

Employees whod like to withdraw their pension amount in certain cases without fulfilling the basic withdrawal criteria can use Form 10C for withdrawal. The form can be filled and submitted online or offline for requesting the pension amount. Apart from the duly-filled form, the applicants also need to submit a few documents to get the application processed.If the application is in order, the EPFO can take 5-30 days to deposit the pension amount into the registered bank account of the employee.

To understand the benefits, you should first understand the eligibility criteria of Form 10C. There are three different sets of criteria as follows-

Eligibility Criteria I of Form 10C

• Employee who has left the job before completing 10 years of active service
• Employee who is 58 years old before completing 10 years of active service

Eligibility Criteria II of Form 10C

• Employee who is not 50 years old but has completed 10 years of active service
• Employee who is above 50 but less than 58 years old and does not want to receive a pension at areduced rate

Eligibility Criteria III of Form 10C

• Nominee/family members/legal heir of a deceased employee who passed away after completing 58 years but less than 10 years of active service
  Based on the criteria listed above, here are the benefits of Form 10C-
• Employees who fulfil criteria I and III can apply for withdrawal benefits
• Employees who fulfil criteria II are only eligible for Scheme Certificate, which can be used for carrying over the service period to the new employer
• Employees who fulfil criteria II and are willing to receive a pension at a reduced rate can submit Form 10D

EPF Form 10C can be filled online or offline. Here are the steps you can follow-

10C Online Form

• Visit the official EPF member portal
• Enter your UAN, password, and the captcha code before clicking on the ‘Sign-in button
• In the ‘Online Services menu, click on ‘Claim (Form-31,19,10C & 10D)
• Youll be redirected to the ‘Member Details page with all your details, like name, DOB, contact details, etc., auto-filled
• Enter your bank account number (last 4 digits) linked with your EPF for verification
• Click ‘Yes for the ‘Certificate of Undertaking dialogue box
• In the following screen, click on ‘Proceed for Online Claim
• The claims section will have auto-filled details like PAN, UAN, mobile number, etc.
• In the claim type section, choose between 'Withdraw Pension Only' and 'Withdraw PF Only'.
• Fill the claim form in the following screen
• An OTP will be sent to your registered mobile number to confirm the submission.
• Once the form is processed, your bank account will be credited with the requested amount.

10C Offline Form

• Visit https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_docs/PDFs/Downloads_PDFs/Form10C.pdf for downloading Form 10C.
• Alternatively, the form can also be collected from the nearest EPFO office.
• Fill the form with the required details and submit the same at the EPFO office.

Here are the attestation procedures of Form 10C for different scenarios-

• If the form is collected from an EPFO office, the employer of the previous organization should attest to the form.
• If the form is downloaded online, both the employee and employer should attest to the form.
• If the previous organization is closed and the authorized signatory is unavailable, either a Gazetted Officer, Magistrate, Secretary or Chairman of Local District Board, President of Panchayat or Village Union, or Bank Manager in which the employee holds the registered bank account can attest the form.

Employees are also required to submit a few documents while submitting 10C Form . Here are the documents youll need-

• Birth Certificate of the employees children for Scheme Certificate application
• Photocopy of a cancelled or blank cheque
• Death Certificate
• Succession certificate in case if the legal heir of the employee is applying for withdrawal
• Revenue stamp of Re. 1 pasted to Form 10C

As EPF is a government-backed saving scheme, it is one of the safest ways for salaried employees to work towards securing their post-retirement life. In case if an employee does not fulfil the basic withdrawal criteria, it is still possible to withdraw the pension by submitting Form 10C in certain cases.Apart from EPF, employees can also consider other investment options like mutual funds to grow their savings. Insurance products like life insurance and health insurance are also an absolute must to secure the future of your loved ones and protect yourself against high medical expenses.

The information contained herein is generic in nature and is meant for educational purposes only. Nothing here is to be construed as an investment or financial or taxation advice nor to be considered as an invitation or solicitation or advertisement for any financial product. Readers are advised to exercise discretion and should seek independent professional advice prior to making any investment decision in relation to any financial product. Aditya Birla Capital Group is not liable for any decision arising out of the use of this information.