Pension Fund: You should also be knowing that an employee does not contribute to the EPS account and only the employer contributes to this fund.
A pension fund or pension corpus term is used generally to refer to the savings a person makes for his post-retirement life. A pension fund can also be called a financial tool as it helps in accumulating funds for one’s post-retirement years. To accumulate a large or sufficient pension fund, a person is required to make a regular contribution to investment instruments that yield a higher return in a longer period. Pension Funds generally have two stages – the accumulation stage where one pays a specific amount regularly until he/she retires and then comes the vesting stage where the person gets a regular income post-retirement.
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Can we withdraw pension contributions from PF?
You should also be knowing that an employee does not contribute to the EPS account and only the employer contributes to this fund. According to the Employee Provident Fund Act of 1952, an EPFO member can withdraw the full PF amount and claim the Employee Pension Scheme amount after retirement. Now, if you have not retired but want to withdraw your pension contribution, then you are unlikely to get it if you do not meet the criteria given below:
* If you are a member of the EPFO and your service time is more than 6 months and less than 10 years, then you can withdraw your pension contribution given only if you are unemployed for more than 2 months. If you have completed less than 10 years but more than 6 months of service, you can withdraw your pension contribution in EPS. However, this is only permitted if you have been unemployed for more than 2 months.
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* Another condition that allows you to withdraw your pension fund is if you have completed 10 years of service and are aged over 50 years but are less than 58. However, if you chose to withdraw pension funds under this condition, then you will get a reduced pension as the rate of pension is reduced by 4% for each year left till you attain 58 years of age. So, if you chose to withdraw the pension at the age of 52, then you will get only 76 per cent of your eligible pension amount.
Government backed pension funds in India include Atal Pension Yojana and National Pension System among others.
