Here is a simple piece of advice to literally everyone who is working: do NOT touch your Provident Fund, no matter what.
Provident fund (commonly known as PF, EPF) is a retirement benefit facility provided to Indian employees by their employers of companies that have more than 20 employees. The option is applicable for practically every Indian who is working. Even if your employer is not offering PF, you can go ahead and start your own PF account with any post office and contribute every month. (for more info on PF visit EPFO site)
I personally know several people who withdraw their PF the moment they move from one employer to another. This is not a wise decision at all. And here is why:
Assuming you start working when you are 21 and your first basic salary is 12,000 per month, by simply contributing 8% of your basic salary right from your first job all the way till you are 55 can leave you will 70 lakhs when you want to withdraw, That is a LOT OF MONEY, and all you had to do was, simply not touch it when you are shifting jobs or when in need of money. Thats all.
I have prepared a google spreadsheet using which you can find out how much your PF will be worth when you are 55. Just key in your age and basic salary when you started contributing, and specify how much your basic grows year on year (usually it will be around 5%). Feel free to enter inputs below to see how much your PF would grow to be, just remember not to touch it (this may not be visible in feed readers, just visit the site to experiment)
Also read: Start early, retire happy | Findout why you should never buy a house | Track your MFs / Shares using Excel
