Question 1

I have four and a half years. Do I get part of the gratuity?

Accepted Answer

No. The Payment of Gratuity Act needs five years of continuous service and below that the entitlement is nothing at all, not a proportion. That is why this page shows the amount you would get at the threshold and how many months away it is: for most people leaving in year four or five, that figure is larger than the rest of the settlement put together.

Question 2

Why is my EPS not in the total?

Accepted Answer

Because it is not the same kind of money. Below ten years of service it is a withdrawal you claim from EPFO; at ten years and beyond it becomes a pension that starts when you are much older. Adding either to a settlement landing this month would put them on one scale that does not exist, so both are described beside the figure and neither is inside it.

Question 3

Why will you not tell me the withdrawal amount?

Accepted Answer

Because it comes from Table D of the scheme, which sets a multiple of wages against completed years, and this site does not carry a sourced copy of that table. We would rather leave the gap visible than fill it with a number we cannot stand behind. Your EPFO office or your passbook will give you the figure.

Question 4

What does the ten year mark actually change?

Accepted Answer

It converts a one-off withdrawal into a pension for life, payable from the scheme age. Somebody two months short of ten years is two months away from a completely different benefit, and nothing in a normal resignation conversation surfaces that. If you are close, it is worth finding out exactly where you stand before handing in notice.

Question 5

Why does the page ask how the job is ending?

Accepted Answer

Because leave encashment is not taxed the same way in every case, and the difference is the entire value of the leave. This page cannot tell from the numbers which situation you are in, so it asks rather than picking the commoner one and quietly applying its rule. If you are unsure, the leave encashment page explains what separates the two.

Question 6

Is this my tax bill for the year?

Accepted Answer

No. This is the settlement and the taxable part of it. What you actually owe depends on everything else you earned in the year, which regime you are in, and what has already been deducted from your salary. The full and final settlement page asks those questions; this one stays on what lands and what you forfeit.

What I Walk Away With