Universal Account Number (UAN) is issued by EPFO to the EPF account holder. Many members have more than one UAN. Which is likely to cause damage. So it should be merged.
New Delhi: Universal Account Number (UAN) is a 12-digit number allotted by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) to every employee having a provident fund account. This UAN number allotted to an employee remains same throughout the time irrespective of change in job. When an employee changes jobs, EPFO allots a new member identification number of the EPF account ID which is linked to the UAN. UAN works as an umbrella for multiple member IDs allotted to an individual by different employers. The idea is to link multiple Member Identification Numbers (Member IDs) allotted to a member under one UAN. This will help the member to see the details of all the member IDs linked to it. Employees can stay on top of their provident fund (PF) accounts with the help of this UAN. An employee can download passbook, transfer request and adjustment online by visiting the UAN homepage.
If a member has already been allotted UAN, then he/she is required to give it to the new company or organization on joining the new job so that the employer can add the newly allotted member ID to the already allotted UAN. However, there are situations when a new UAN is allotted to an employee. Two UANs can be generated for an individual when the date of exit is not updated by the previous employer or UAN is not disclosed by the employee. If an employee changes his job, the UAN allotted to him should be given to the new employer. If the employee does not disclose the UAN and EPF details, the new employer will allot another UAN.
In this case both the numbers should be merged immediately or one account should be deactivated with two accounts, you will not get the benefit of pension and the amount deposited by your old company will also not be added to the new account. If you are given two UANs, then you have to deactivate the first one as it is against the rules to have two active UANs at the same time. All EPF accounts of a member should be linked to the same UAN. Employees with two UANs will have to transfer their EPF amount in the same account and deactivate the previous UAN.
How to merge two UAN accounts?
You have to inform your current employer or write to EPF to block the previous UAN and transfer the existing balance to the active UAN. The employee has to file a claim to transfer the EPF account to the active account to be linked with the blocked UAN. To resolve this issue, EPFO will conduct a verification. Send an email to uanepf@epfindia.gov.in with your current and previous UAN in the subject line. This process can be time consuming. The old UAN is deactivated by transferring funds to the new UAN. After the transfer request, EPFO verifies the transfer claim. Both the UANs are linked and EPFO will deactivate the old UAN once the transfer process is completed. The process of merging UAN will be completed automatically. Once EPFO verifies your new UAN, it will be linked to your PF account.
Another way to deactivate UANs is online and it will take less time than the above method.
Step 1: Go to the EPFO portal.
Step 2: Enter using your documents.
Step 3: Click on CLAMS on the menu bar.
Step 4: Click on “Request for Transfer of accoun” to file transfer claim online.
Step 5: Enter the captcha and click on ‘GET PIN’.
Step 6 : After entering the PIN received on the registered smartphone, the online claim application can be submitted.
Note that when the request for EPF transfer is made, the EPFO device automatically detects the duplicate UAN. The old UAN from which the fund is being transferred will be deactivated after the identification process is completed. Once the UAN is deactivated automatically, the old EPF account will be linked with the new UAN. You will receive an SMS informing you about the deactivation status of the old UAN. If you have not activated the new UAN yet, an email will be sent to you with instructions on how to do so.
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