EPFO has recently made the following changes:
EPF withdrawal: If a member has contributed to EPF for at least 12 months, he/she can withdraw only upto 75% of EPF corpus immediately in case of loss of job. The remaining 25% stays invested for 12 months and can be withdrawn if you are not re employed. This means your immediate requirements are met due to job loss but you continue to be a member of EPF seamlessly in case of re employment.
EPS withdrawal: In case contribution is less than 10 years, a member can withdraw EPS contribution but only with a 36-month waiting period for job loss as against 2 months waiting until now and if re employed, the EPS contribution continues seamlessly.
The above changes have been made by Govt to balance liquidity and security features of EPF and EPS in case of a contingency arising due to job loss but also ensuring continuity of membership.
CS Sharad Bhargava