New Delhi, June 19: The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) will continue to have the interest rate of 8.25% as the Union Finance Ministry has given its approval.
The Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the top decision-making body of EPFO, had made the recommendation in March as per the practice and forwarded it to the Finance Ministry for approval.
A notification on the interest rate is expected to be now issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment later this month.
The Labour Ministry is also expected to launch, by the end of this month, a revamped digital ecosystem which will have a number of new features, including a facility to allow its subscribers to withdraw 75% of their EPF deposit through UPI and ATM.
An EPFO member will be able to avail the UPI facility through the BHIM app, with the existing guardrails for UPI transactions to apply as they are.
This is in tune with the liberalisation of withdrawal norms announced by the EPFO after its Board meeting in October last year.
The move is aimed at easing the withdrawal categories from 13 to three: essential needs (illness, education, marriage); housing needs; and special circumstances.
The EPFO is likely to credit the 8.25% rate of interest for 2025-26 into subscribers’ accounts this month itself.
The source also said that under the new ecosystem developed by the EPFO, the interest on the EPF will be credited into subscribers’ accounts immediately.
Rates of Interest Earlier
In February last year, the EPFO had retained the 8.25% rate of interest for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The EPFO, in 2024, increased the interest rate marginally to 8.25% for 2023-24, from 8.15% in 2022-23.
In March 2022, EPFO lowered the interest on post-retirement deposits for 2021-22 to an over four-decade low of 8.10% from 8.5% in 2020-21.
The 8.10% rate for 2020-21 was the lowest since 1977-78, when the rate stood at 8%.
In March 2020, EPFO lowered the interest rate on provident fund deposits to a seven-year low of 8.5% for 2019-20, from 8.65% provided for 2018-19.
EPFO provided an 8.65% interest rate to its subscribers in 2016-17 and 8.55% in 2017-18. The rate of interest was slightly higher at 8.8% in 2015-16.
The retirement fund body gave an 8.75% rate of interest in 2013-14 as well as 2014-15, higher than 8.5% for 2012-13. The rate of interest was 8.25% in 2011-12. (BVI)
