Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is a collection of funds that both the employer and the employee contribute on a monthly basis. It is a scheme that provides financial support to all salaried individuals post-retirement.
EPF is the main scheme under the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) backs this scheme. It is mandatory for an organization that has more than 20 employees to register under the EPF Act.
In an EPF Scheme, an employee has to pay a certain amount from his salary towards the scheme. However, the employer pays an equal amount as well. This amount so contributed on a monthly basis further helps in providing monetary benefit to the employee after his retirement.
EPF is basically a retirement benefit plan and aims to ensure a financially independent retirement.
Provident Fund Withdrawal PF money can be fully withdrawn only after retirement and not when working except under some conditions. If a person is unemployed, he can withdraw 75% of the PF deposit after one month of unemployment and remaining 25% after two months. PF can be withdrawn 2 or 3 times on non-refundable basis.
How much can you withdraw at retirement and what are the tax implications?
On the 1st of March 2021, the latest Taxation Law Amendments Bill formally came into effect. It includes changes to the laws that govern retirement funds including provident, pension, preservation and retirement annuity funds. Some of the amendments aim to improve consistency across the different retirement fund products.
This article deals with the new rules applicable to provident and provident preservation funds which impact how their benefits can be used upon retirement.
Prior to the recent amendments, provident fund members would be entitled to withdraw their entire fund value as a lump sum at retirement (earliest retirement age of 55). This differs from other retirement vehicles where 2/3rds of the proceeds must be used to purchase a living or guaranteed annuity.
The bill addresses this anomaly by bringing provident funds in line with other retirement vehicles that are subject to the partial annuitisation of their benefits.
How will my provident fund be impacted?
Any contributions made to your provident fund prior to the 1st of March 2021, including the growth thereon, are deemed to be the ‘vested’ portion of your provident fund and will not be subject to the 2/3rds annuitisation rule. At retirement, existing provident fund members will be able to withdraw the entire value of the vested portion of their investment as a lump sum as originally permitted.
However, from the 1st of March 2021, provident fund members who are younger than 55 years of age will see any further contributions on or after 1 March, and the growth thereon, deemed as the ‘non-vested’ portion of their fund, the value of which will be subject to the 2/3rds annuitisation rule upon retirement.
The current legislation that allows for any member of a pension fund or retirement annuity – whose fund value is R247,500 or less at retirement – to take the full benefit as a lump sum remains in place for both the vested and non-vested portions of a provident fund.
A provident fund member who is 55 years or older at the 1st of March 2021 will not be subject to the new rules for provident funds, regardless of whether further contributions are made from the date the amendments came into force. This means they are allowed to withdraw the entire value of the fund as a lump sum, provided that any further contributions are made to the existing provident fund.
Members over the age of 55 who leave their current provident fund to join a different fund will see their contributions, and growth thereon, made to that fund become subject to the 2/3rds annuitisation rule.
Practical examples of the new provident fund rules
Tax year 2026: Retirement & Death Benefits or Severance Benefits
| Taxable income (R) | Rate of tax (R) |
|---|---|
| 1 – 500 000 | 0% of taxable income |
| 500 001 – 700 000 | 18% of taxable income above 500 000 |
| 700 001 – 1 050 000 | 36 000 + 27% of taxable income above 700 000 |
| 1 050 001 and above | 130 500 + 36% of taxable income above 1 050 000 |
Mr. Smith is currently 55 years of age and has been a member of the ABC provident fund for the past 30 years. He plans to retire at the end of this year.
At retirement Mr. Smith’s provident fund is valued at R2,150,000. Under the new rules, he would still be able to withdraw the entire fund value as a lump sum, which would then be subject to tax as per the above table.
Mr. Smith decides to push out his retirement age to 65. On the 1st of March 2021, his provident fund is valued at R2,150,000 and he and his employer each contribute a monthly amount of R4,000 towards the ABC provident fund. At retirement, his estimated fund value is R5,378,352 assuming an 8% return per annum.
At retirement Mr. Smith will be able to withdraw the entire value as a lump sum, subject to tax, as he did not leave the ABC provident fund.
Mr. Smith still plans to retire at 65. On the 1st of March 2021, his ABC provident fund is valued as per the previous example. But instead of staying with ABC, he moves to XYZ provident fund where he also contributes R4,000 per month until his retirement.
Mr. Smith would be able entitled to withdraw the entire fund value of R4,641,689 he accumulated with ABC provident fund (the R2,150,000 plus growth) as a lump sum vested portion, again subject to tax.
His accumulated fund value with XYZ provident fund of R736,666, which would be classified as non-vested, would then be subject to annuitisation and he would only be able to withdraw 1/3rd of the fund value as a lump sum, with the remaining 2/3rds used to purchase an annuity.