PF amount not transferred automatically after changing jobs? Here’s what you need to do

Whenever an employee switches jobs, one of the first tasks is to transfer the PF account from the existing employer to the new employer. Thankfully, this process is now automated for employees whose Universal Account Number (UAN) is fully KYC-compliant and linked to their Aadhaar, PAN and bank account.

"A member whose UAN is seeded and is fully KYC complaint must not file any transfer claim on change of employment," the EPFO says in a document explaining frequently asked questions (FAQs) on PF.

As per the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), an automatic trigger for PF transfer is generated whenever an employee joins a new job and the first month’s PF contribution is received.

However, the automatic PF transfer facility would not work for employees whose accounts are not seeded and KYC compliant. Further, employees who have multiple PF accounts with some balance amount need to apply for PF amount transfer.

"If the member has more than one PF member IDs (MIDs) and the PF amount of these MIDs has not been transferred into the latest MID, the member is required to get his PF transferred into his current MID,” says EPFO.

Let's understand how your PF account is created

You get a new PF Member ID (MID) after joining a company covered under the EPFO. After working with multiple companies over several years, you end up having multiple MIDs. PF claim process can become complicated if the amount from past MIDs has not been transferred to the current MID.

You can check whether your old PF amounts have been transferred to the current MID by viewing your PF passbook on the EPFO portal. If the old PF has been transferred, then your latest passbook will show it as a credit entry. Otherwise, all previous MIDs will show some balance.

You should submit the online transfer claim in case you see all MIDs showing some amounts. For this, you can follow the steps mentioned below:

In case you don't remember your password, you can reset it by clicking on "Forgot password".

Generally, choosing the current employer in the above step helps. After submitting the claim, you should approach your HR department personally with a request to attest to the online claim form. This will expedite the process.