Can I Get a Loan Against My Provident Fund for Marriage?

Highlights

  • Seeking funds for marriage? How about taking a loan against EPF for the same as you don’t need to return it?
  • Sounds interesting! But how much loan you can take - read this post to know all!

Marriage is one beautiful thing that brings together a lifelong partnership between not only the bride and bridegroom but also their respective families. The popular 3 Bs (Band, Baaja and Baaraat) show the magnitude of this event and people want everything to be perfect from guest accommodation, jewellery, food to even the rituals. A fat Indian wedding can cost around INR 15-20 lakh on average. Given such tall expenses, the families start saving at the earliest. They save on their daily routine and even go on to take a loan from a bank or non-banking finance company (NBFC) to make the D-day memorable forever.

But do you know that you can take a loan against your Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for marriage? Yes, it’s possible! The best part is that you don’t need to return it. The reason being it is not treated as a loan. It’s rather a withdrawal from your provident fund corpus and different from a loan from the lender that charges interest on the same. How much can you withdraw from your provident fund? When can you withdraw from your provident fund? This post will answer all! So, let’s keep reading.

Let’s Take a Quick Look at the EPF Contribution

You must have been seeing a certain portion of your salary getting deducted towards the provident fund every month. Around 12% of your basic salary and dearness allowance is deducted by your employer who marks it as your contribution to the provident fund. The employer also makes a matching contribution. These contributions also earn you interest whose interest presently stands at 8.50% per annum.

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How Much Can I Withdraw from My Provident Fund for Marriage?

The EPF rules allow you to withdraw for the marriage of self, daughter, son, or even your siblings. As much as 50% of the employee share with interest can be allowed to withdraw for the said purpose.

Can I Withdraw for Marriage Only Once or More Than That?

You can withdraw as much as 3 times to meet the expenses of multiple marriages.

Is There Any Condition for Withdrawal from EPF?

As far as marriage goes, the retirement body Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) allows its subscribers to withdraw from their provident fund accounts only when they have contributed for at least 7 years.

How to Apply for a Loan Against EPF for Marriage?

This will require visiting the official website of the EPFO and filling the Form 31. To access the form, you must have an online account. You must have created your Universal Account Number (UAN) by mentioning your personal details. If you haven’t, you can create it by clicking on Know Your UAN on the EPFO unified member portal. Mention the details correctly and you will get your UAN. You will also need to create a password for login. So, just log in with your UAN and password, go to Form 31, fill the details and get the amount sanctioned for marriage. You will need to accompany that form with a wedding card for the same.

How Much Should I Withdraw for Marriage?

The EPFO allows withdrawal upto 50% of the employee share along with interest as stated above. It was also mentioned that EPF withdrawals don’t bear any interest liability for you. But provident fund corpus is basically to ensure you retire with a significantly high corpus and live comfortably during your retirement days. So, if you want to withdraw from EPF for marriage, show discretion while deciding on the amount you should withdraw. The decision of the withdrawal amount will also depend on the overall sum you might have in your provident fund account and the time you are away from retirement. So, if you are 20-25 years away from retirement and have a decently large sum in your EPF account, you can withdraw 20%-30% of the same. Use other savings too that you might have accumulated in savings or fixed deposit accounts. Even then, if you are short of meeting the required expenses by some amount, think of applying for a personal loan or take help from your relatives to cover the gap.

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