Have more than one UAN? You may be losing money, here’s how you can merge multiple UAN and consolidate your EPF accounts

If you were not cautious during your job changes and did not provide your previous EPF account details to new employer, the chances are that you may have ended up with more than one Universal Account Number (UAN).
Your Universal Account Number is a unique 12-digit identifier that is linked to your EPF accounts and should stay with you throughout your career, regardless of how many times you change employers.

If left scattered, there are chances that you are losing out on interest in your inactive EPF account that is linked to your old UAN as EPFO doesn’t pay interest on an account that has been inactive for more than 3 years. So if you have more than one UAN, wake up and consolidate all your UANs and stop this interest loss.

ET Wealth online explains what leads to multiple UANs and how to consolidate them.

When might you end up with two UANs?This might happen primarily due to data mismatch issues or issues during onboarding.
If you forget to mention your old UAN when joining a new company, your new employer then generates a fresh UAN, assuming you don’t have one.Your previous employer didn’t update your exit date in the Electronic Challan and Return system resulting in your new organization creating a new UAN.Data mismatches or KYC issues such as Aadhaar not linked or your name varied slightly across documents etc.“This typically happens when Aadhaar or PAN details are incorrectly entered or not linked and verified, leading the EPFO system to generate a new UAN instead of mapping the existing one.” says Sameer Mathur, MD and Founder, Roinet Solution.
Mismatches in name, date of birth, or gender across Aadhaar, PAN, and EPFO records, as well as outdated or missing exit details from previous employment, can also result in duplicate UAN creation,” he adds.Why should you care about multiple UANs?Having more than one Universal Account Numbers is against EPFO regulations. Besides that, it may also significantly impact long term financial planning:

Interest loss: Having multiple UANs means that you will have only one active UAN linked to your current employer while other UANs will become inactive. EPFO pays interest on inactive accounts only for 3 years after which no interest is paid.

Taxation: Your PF account under old UAN might become inactive if you have left your previous job more than 3 years ago. The tax authorities may treat interest earned on these non-contributory balances as taxable income.

“While EPFO credits interest on inactive accounts for up to three years from the last contribution, the tax authorities may treat interest earned on these non-contributory balances as taxable income, akin to interest on other investment products,” says CA Mohit Gupta, Partner at PNAM & Co LLP.

Withdrawal: Despite having more than 5 years of continuous service in different organisations, on withdrawal, you may end up having income tax liability if you leave your new job with new UAN before 5 years. This is because, to have tax free withdrawal, you would not be able to show continuous service of 5 years since past service records are linked to a different UAN.

Having two UAN numbers may lead to complications in managing your Provident Fund accounts. During withdrawal, you may only be able to access one account at a time which may hamper your overall withdrawal limits.

Things to check before you prepare for UAN mergerLook if there is any mismatch in name, date of birth, gender in different supporting documents.

“UAN merger requests are most commonly rejected due to mismatches in name, date of birth, or gender across Aadhaar, PAN, and UAN records,” says Mathur.

Other frequent issues include Aadhaar not being seeded or verified, PAN not being linked or validated, and incorrect or missing exit dates from previous employment, he adds.

Since Aadhaar is treated as the primary reference, even minor discrepancies can lead to rejection. Employees can proactively avoid this by ensuring all details exactly match Aadhaar records, verifying Aadhaar and PAN linkage in every UAN, and updating exit information before applying for the merger, he explains.

How to merge multiple UANs?There are typically two methods to merge two UANs, but before diving into the merger process, you need to ensure a few things are in order.Method 1: Online merger through EPFO portalThis is usually the fastest, most reliable way to merge your UANs. The EPFO has rolled out an easy online facility to help employees merge their previous PF accounts into a single, active UAN.

Step 1: Log into the EPFO portal at unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in

Step 2: Navigate to Transfer Request and Select ‘One Member – One EPF Account (Transfer Request)’.

Step 3: Verify your details including name, date of birth, mobile number, and your active EPF account details.

Step 4: Enter your previous member ID or UAN. Click ‘Get Details’ to pull up information about your old EPF account:

Previous employer nameAccount balanceService periodContribution historyStep 5: Choose attestation method: You’ll need either your current or previous employer to verify your transfer request.

Step 6: Submit and track: The system will generate a tracking ID to check your request status.

Method 2: Email-based mergerIf you’re unable to access the portal or face technical issues, you can request account consolidation through email by writing to uanepf@epfindia.gov.in.

In your email, include:

Your current UANYour previous UAN(s)Your full name as per AadhaarYour registered mobile numberA clear request to merge the accountsThe EPFO will verify your details and deactivate your old UAN while keeping your current one active. However, this method is slower, and resolution rates are lower compared to the online process.

Once you’ve submitted your merger request, your chosen employer (current or previous) receives a notification to verify your request. They’ll check your employment records and approve the transfer.

“If a previous employer has shut down or is unresponsive, the fastest way to get UANs merged without employer attestation is to raise a grievance on the EPFiGMS portal,” says Mathur.

How long does it take for your UAN merger request to get processed?Merging two PF accounts usually takes around 20 to 30 days after a successful request through the EPFO portal.

Once EPFO verification is completed, your old UAN gets deactivated, and the previous Member ID links to your new, active UAN.

Managing your EPF might not be as exciting as checking your stock portfolio or planning your next vacation, but it’s arguably as important if not more.

Having multiple UANs is common and fixable. The EPFO has made the merger process relatively simple, especially with the online portal and investing a few hours now can save you enormous pain later.