The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) allows subscribers to take advance from their provident fund accumulations in certain cases. An EPFO subscriber can take non-refundable PF advances during the service period for various purposes such as illness, marriage, education and purchase of house. The amount varies and the employee needs to meet specific criteria to be eligible for PF advance. An employee can withdraw upto 90% of total PF balance within one year before retirement, advance on unemployment upto 75% of total PF balance, etc. You can make final withdrawal of your EPF accumulations on retirement or two months after ceasing to be an employee. You can also draw pension on superannuation or after exit from service on attaining 50 years of age subject to 10 years of service period.

Under the Provident Fund Scheme, you can avail refundable and non-refundable loans for specific purposes by making an application in this regard. Refundable loans have to be repaid via monthly installments. Non-refundable loans are like withdrawals. These loans are not to be paid back.

Illness: PF money can be partially drawn for medical purposes. It is applicable for medical treatments of self, spouse, children, and parents. An employee can withdraw up to 6 months of his basic and DA or his/her entire contribution, whichever is least. There is no lock-in period or minimum service period for this type of withdrawal.

Marriage: An EPFO member can withdraw up to 50% of the money from the EPF account for his or her own marriage, the marriage of his or her daughter, son, sister or brother. However, the person should have completed contribution to EPF for at least seven years. EPFO allows three such withdrawals for this purpose and an employee can withdraw upto 50% of his/her share.

Education: EPFO members can withdraw money for post-matriculation education of his or her son or daughter after seven years of service. The person can withdraw upto 50% of the employee's share with interest. The retirement fund body allows three such withdrawals for this purpose.

Purchase or construction of a house: EPF members having completed five years of service can apply for an advance for purchase of a house/flat or construction of a house, including acquisition of site from agency, under certain conditions. The EPFO allows only one such withdrawal, and the amount allowed for such a withdrawal is limited to the least of 36 months of basic wage along with dearness allowance (DA), or the total of employee and employer shares with interest, or the total cost of the house, according to the provident fund body's portal. The house in this case is required to be owned by the subscriber, the spouse of the subscriber, or jointly by the subscriber and the spouse, according to the PF body.

Retirement: An EPFO member can withdraw up to 90 per cent of his EPF amount at any time after attainment of the age of 54 years or within one year before his actual retirement on superannuation, whichever is later.

Unemployment: EPFO allows an advance against your EPF corpus to the tune of 75% on job loss and unemployment of a month.