Universal Account Number (UAN)

What is the UAN number?

The full form of UAN is Universal Account Number. It is a 12 digit unique number provided by Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) to all its members. However, it is issued by the Ministry of Employment and Labour which operates under the Government of India. For every Provident fund account at EPFO, a universal number is generated. With the help of this number, you can manage your Provident Funds (PF) accounts online. Since; it is related to your pf account balance, it is unique in nature and the same UAN cannot be issued to two different individuals. Even if you have switched your job or planning to do so, don’t worry, your UAN number will remain the same irrespective of your workplace.

Why was UAN introduced?

UAN came into existence because it got very difficult to keep a track on all the different employee activities. The aim of EPFO is to link the multiple Ids allocated to a single individual to a single member using single UAN. The PF balance couldn’t be calculated properly and it became even more difficult with payout issues. These issues further complicated things when the employee had to switch jobs. UAN was initiated as a solution to all the problems mentioned above. With UAN, you can manage all your PF accounts associated with different IDs’ of different organizations under one number. UAN has eased the process of transferring and withdrawing funds as well.

Why do employees need a UAN number?

UAN has many advantages for employees. These are

• Easy fund transfers: If you are changing jobs, all you need to do is provide your employer your UAN details and KYC. Once this information is verified, your old PF will be transferred to your new PF.
• Lesser employer involvement in PF withdrawals: With the advent of UAN, post the employee’s verification old PF can be transferred to the new PF and thus resulting in reduced employer’s involvement.
• SMS alerts: Employees can easily manage and check contributions made to their PF by the employers via SMS after registering on the UAN portal.
• No more employer verification: If you are switching jobs, your new employer might not undertake the process of verification if your UAN is already Aadhaar and KYC verified.

What are the different ways to know your UAN?

There are various methods to know your UAN. These are via

• Employer: You can easily ask your employer for your Universal Account Number allotted to you by the EPFO Employees Provident Fund Organization. Some employers tend to print the UAN number on salary slips, you can check them too.
• UAN online portal either using member ID or PF number: In any case, if your employer refuses to give you your UAN, you can check for your number from the UAN portal. Follow the steps mentioned below to retrieve your UAN number from the portal.
  1. Visit the UAN portal. A screen similar to the one mentioned under ‘Activate UAN via UAN member portal’ will appear
  2. On the right section of the screen, under ‘Important links’, you will see ‘Know your UAN status’. Select that option to proceed further. A screen similar to the one attached below should appear on your computer screens as well:
  3. Fill in all the details mentioned in the form starting from ‘Enter member ID’. Under this, select your state and your EPFO office. Along with this, enter your other details like member ID, name, date of birth, mobile number, and email address. If you don’t know your member ID or PF number, you can refer to your salary slips for the same. All the fields marked with an asterisk (*) needs to be filled mandatorily.
  4. After completing the form, click on ‘Get authorization pin’. The authorization pin will be sent on your registered mobile number.
  5. Enter the PIN against the designated space and select ‘Validate OTP and UAN’ option.
  6. You will receive your Universal Account Number on your registered mobile number.

How is Withdrawal/Transfer of funds made easy by UAN ?

Before the launch of UAN, people didn’t utilise their PF’s because whenever an employee changed his company, the process became very tedious. But after this service was rolled out, it made the process easier in many ways which are mentioned below:

• A PF account linked to UAN will invite lesser employer intervention.
• You can manage your account online after giving your UAN details to your employer post the KYC verification
• All PF accounts can be integrated and linked together to your UAN.
• Withdrawals tend to get reduced once UAN makes the linking of all PF’s easy.
• You can register for monthly updates on your mobile for the deposits made by your employer to your PF account.

What are some other benefits of generating UAN no?

• All employees independent of employers are provided with UAN
• UAN can also be used by the employer to check his employee if the KYC documents are authenticated
• The employer will not be able to hold back or deduct his employee’s PF as UAN provides online services
• By registering on the EPF member portal using UAN, employees can check their PF deposit made by the employer every month
• Employees can access their EPF passbook by sending an SMS through their registered mobile number in the format mentioned below:

How to link Aadhar to UAN and PF?

Linking of aadhaar with UAN or PF account is not mandatory but it is still advisable to do the same. The linking can be done either through online or offline mode.Read More