Lost your job? You now need to wait a year
The Employees's Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) now requires you to wait 12 months—up from just 2—to fully settle your PF after losing your job.
This big change, part of the new EPFO 3.0 reforms, lands right when layoffs are shaking up India's IT and fintech sectors.
Pension withdrawals also got stricter: you'll need to be unemployed for three years before accessing that money.
Tech layoffs and the waiting game
It's a rough patch for tech workers—TCS let go of nearly 20,000 people in a single quarter, and Paytm cut around 4,600 jobs in FY2025.
With the longer PF waiting period, many suddenly unemployed folks might find it harder to tap into their savings when they need it most.
Simplifying partial withdrawals
On the plus side, EPFO has made partial withdrawals simpler by grouping reasons into three easy categories: Essential Needs, Housing Needs, and Special Circumstances.
They're also enhancing digital access for over 30 crore members, but the new waiting periods apply to final settlement and pension withdrawal, not to all partial withdrawals.