Govt Clears 8.25% EPF Interest Rate for FY26; Credit Likely This Month

NEW DELHI, June 18: The Government has ratified an 8.25 per cent interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) deposits for the financial year 2025-26, paving the way for the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to credit the interest into the accounts of over seven crore contributing members later this month.

According to sources, the Finance Ministry has approved the interest rate recommended by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the apex decision-making body of the EPFO, after completing the required vetting process.

The CBT, chaired by Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, had on March 2 decided to retain the 8.25 per cent interest rate for 2025-26, marking the third consecutive financial year that the rate has remained unchanged. The proposal was subsequently forwarded to the Finance Ministry for formal concurrence, as the Government of India guarantees EPF deposits.

Sources said the Labour Ministry has directed the EPFO to begin crediting the approved interest into subscribers’ accounts this month. Under the organisation’s newly developed digital ecosystem, interest will now be credited immediately after approval, ensuring faster settlement for subscribers.

The EPFO had also retained the 8.25 per cent interest rate for 2024-25 after raising it marginally from 8.15 per cent in 2022-23 to 8.25 per cent for 2023-24.

Earlier, the retirement fund body had reduced the EPF interest rate to 8.10 per cent for 2021-22, the lowest in over four decades since 1977-78, when the rate stood at 8 per cent. It had also cut the rate to 8.5 per cent for 2019-20 from 8.65 per cent in 2018-19.

Over the years, the EPF interest rate has fluctuated, with subscribers earning 8.8 per cent in 2015-16, 8.65 per cent in 2016-17, 8.55 per cent in 2017-18, and 8.75 per cent in both 2013-14 and 2014-15. The rate stood at 8.25 per cent in 2011-12. (Agencies)