1 The government has announced a roll-back of the restrictions proposed in February 2016 on withdrawal of balances in the EPF account.

2 The proposal restricted access to a part of the funds, allowing the withdrawal of the employer contribution only after attaining the age of 58 years.

3 Advances can be taken against EPF for reasons specified under the EPF Scheme, 1952. The amount drawn can be a combination of employeeemployer contribution and interest.

4 Employees access EPF balances primarily to fund purchase of property and for funding medical emergencies.

5 Anyone over 54 years of age, and within one year of attaining superannuation, can withdraw up to 90% of the accumulated balance with interest.

6 The rollback is yet to be notified by the EPFO, and is expected to restore the accessibility of the EPF balances for various needs of the contributors.