The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is holding an important meeting on March 2 to finalize the interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) deposits for the financial year 2025-26 (FY26). The Central Board of Trustees (CBT), which is the highest decision-making body of EPFO, consisting of government nominees, employer representatives and trade union members, decides the rates based on the returns from EPFO’s investments. It is expected that EPFO can maintain the interest rate at 8.25 percent for the third consecutive year. There are political reasons also. Assembly elections are going to be held in states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and UT Puducherry, hence the government can give priority to avoid any cuts that may affect the sentiment of salaried employees.
EPFO manages funds worth Rs 26 lakh crore
According to reports, EPFO manages a huge fund of Rs 25-26 lakh crore. EPF remains an important part of retirement planning, offering tax-free, guaranteed returns that are often higher than bank fixed deposits and small savings schemes. The last meeting of EPFO was held in October and many decisions were taken in the meeting, which included simplifying the rules for EPF partial withdrawal. The Labor and Employment Ministry had said that to make life easier for EPF members, the CBT has decided to simplify the rules for partial withdrawal of the EPF scheme.
making rules easier
For this, 13 difficult rules have been combined into a single, easy rule. It is divided into three types of categories, i.e. essential needs (illness, education, marriage), household needs and special circumstances. Withdrawal limits have also been eased. The ministry had said that withdrawals are allowed up to 10 times for studies and five times for marriage (currently there is a total limit of three partial withdrawals for marriage and studies). The ministry had said that the minimum service requirement for all partial withdrawals has been reduced to just 12 months.