Advantages to invest in Provident Fund!!!

Before start, we must know a brief about the types/categories of Provident Fund: 

• Statutory Provident Fund (SPF / GPF): These are maintained by Government or Semi Govt bodies, Railways, Universities, Local Authorities, etc.
• Recognized Provident Fund (RPF): Any business organization or establishment whose employees 20 or more is under an obligation can register himself under the provident fund act. Less than 20 employees' entity can also apply for RPF. It is one of the most popular EPF for individuals who are salaried employed.  
• Unrecognized Provident Fund (UPF):  Here business organization or establishment can create a provident fund under his control, which means the provident fund is not recognized under the Income Tax Act. 
• Public Provident Fund (PPF):  Any Individual from the public whether is in employment or not can contribute to this fund.

Below matrix shows the Advantages and condition applicable on above mentioned Provident Fund:

Types	During Service /Contribution Period			Repayment / Redumption
	Employee's Contribution	Employee's Contribution	Interest on PF	Retirement/ Registration / Termination
SPF	Deduction U/S 80C is available	TAX -Free	Fully Exempt	Fully Exempt
RPF	Deduction U/S 80C is available	Exempt up to 12% of Salary	Exempt up to 9.5%	Fully Exempt, if, -Employee leaves the job after 5 years. -Where the period of service is less than 5 years, the termination is due to ill heath (or) discontinuance of the business of the employer. -PF balance is transferred to RPF with a new Employer.
UPF	Deduction NOT available	Not Taxable	Not Taxable	Employer'sContribution and Interest thereon is Taxable. Interest on employee's contribution is Taxable as 'income from Other Sources'.
PPF	Deduction U/S 80C is available	Not Applicable	Fully Exempt	Fully Exempt