Demystifying UAN: Your Gateway to Streamlined EPF Management
Demystifying UAN: Your Gateway to Streamlined EPF Management
The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is a social security scheme in India that safeguards your retirement savings. Every member of the EPF has a unique identifier – the Universal Account Number (UAN). This 12-digit number acts as an umbrella for all your EPF accounts throughout your career, simplifying the management of your contributions and claims across different employers.
What is a UAN?
A UAN is essentially a single identification number assigned to you by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) under the Ministry of Employment and Labor. This unique number remains constant throughout your professional life, regardless of how many times you change jobs. Each new employer assigns you a new member ID within their organization, but your UAN remains the same, linking all your PF accounts under one roof.
Benefits of Having a UAN
The UAN system offers a multitude of advantages for both employees and employers:
- Centralized Management: With a UAN, you gain a consolidated view of all your EPF contributions under a single account. This eliminates the need to track multiple PF accounts associated with previous employers, making it easier to monitor your retirement savings.
- Portability: When you switch jobs, your UAN travels with you. You simply need to share your UAN with your new employer to seamlessly transfer your existing PF balance to your new account. This eliminates the tedious and time-consuming process of manual PF transfers.
- Transparency and Online Access: UAN activation unlocks a world of online services offered by the EPFO portal. You can conveniently access your EPF account anytime, anywhere, to check your balance, track contributions, submit claims, and update your KYC details.
- Reduced Employer Involvement: UAN streamlines the PF transfer process, minimizing employer involvement. Once your KYC verification is complete, your previous employer's PF balance gets transferred to your new account automatically.
- Employer Authentication: Employers can utilize the UAN system to verify employee details by checking their KYC documents. This helps ensure the legitimacy of employee PF accounts and contributions.
- Reduced Risk of PF Withholding: Since your UAN provides real-time insights into your PF contributions, employers cannot deduct or withhold your rightful PF amount.
How to Find and Activate Your UAN
There are two ways to locate your UAN:
- Through Your Employer: Most employers provide your UAN on your payslip or during the onboarding process.
- UAN Member Portal: If you can't get it from your employer, you can retrieve it yourself using the UAN member portal:
- Visit the UAN Member Portal: https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/
- Click on "Know Your UAN"
- Select your state and EPFO office from the dropdowns.
- Enter your PF number/member ID, name, date of birth, mobile number, and captcha code.
- Click on "Get Authorization Pin" to receive a one-time password (OTP) on your registered mobile number.
- Enter the OTP and click on "Validate OTP and Get UAN" to receive your UAN via SMS.
Once you have your UAN, proceed with getting it activated to unlock the online EPFO services for you:
- Visit the EPFO website: https://www.epfindia.gov.in/
- Click on "Our Services" and then select "For Employees"
- Under "Services," choose "Member UAN/Online Services" which redirects you to the UAN Member Portal.
- Enter your UAN, PF member ID (if available), and mobile number.
- Enter the captcha code and click on "Get Authorization PIN" to receive an OTP on your phone.
- Tick the "I Agree" checkbox and enter the OTP to proceed.
- Click on "Validate OTP and Activate UAN." Upon successful activation, you'll receive a password on your registered mobile number for future logins.