Every month your salary slip features a deduction towards your Provident Fund (also known as Employees Provident Fund or EPF in short). How often have you wondered if such a contribution is actually beneficial to you and if it is actually needed? What if you quit or switch over jobs? Here's explaining the benefits EPF carries and why one should pay attention to this contribution.
Did you know that your EPF contribution also goes towards insuring you, giving you and your spouse a pension apart from giving you a lump sum amount after retirement?
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The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will soon allow subscribers to withdraw their EPF and transfer it directly to their bank accounts through the UPI payment gateway. Testing of the facility has been completed, according to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is set to introduce UPI-linked withdrawals by the end of May, as it finalises testing for its Centralised IT Enabled System (CITES) 2.0 overhaul, aiming to streamline PF balance transfers and withdrawals.
EPF has traditionally been the only tool for Indians, especially the salaried class, to save for their retirement corpus.
The proposed facility seeks to simplify and speed up PF withdrawals by allowing Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) subscribers to access up to 75 per cent of their balance through ATMs and UPI-based systems, while retaining at least 25 per cent in their accounts.
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has decided to maintain the interest rate on employees' provident fund (EPF) deposits at 8.25 per cent for the fiscal year 2025-26, marking the second consecutive year at this rate.
A Nashik court has remanded Nida Khan, an employee of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), in police custody until May 11 in connection with a sexual harassment and religious coercion case. The police are investigating allegations of forced religious conversion and potential links to other conversion rackets.
Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have been fiscally stressed for a considerable period of time, and there are no easy ways to mobilise revenues to meet the cost of the promised freebies, particularly in the prevailing difficult economic scenario, points out M Govinda Rao.
'Healthcare costs in India rise by 10 to 14% annually, causing treatment costs to double roughly every 5-7 years.'
The Bihar education department has requested madrasas, Sanskrit, and other government-aided minority schools to provide details regarding the number of students, teachers, and non-teaching staff to ensure proper utilisation of government aid.
Investments under the framework would remain voluntary for employees.
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The Jammu and Kashmir government has terminated the services of two employees for their alleged links with terror outfits, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
The Indian government has notified final rules under four labour codes, potentially enabling a four-day workweek in certain sectors by capping weekly working hours at 48 while allowing daily flexibility. This move also introduces significant changes to wage fixation, compliance obligations, and social security norms.
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have expressed significant concerns regarding the labour ministry's recent clarifications on labour codes, citing ambiguity in wage calculation and implementation, which they argue creates interpretational and operational challenges for employers.
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) apex decision-making body, Central Board of Trustees, decided to fix 8.5 per cent rate of interest for 2020-21 at its meeting in Srinagar on Thursday, sources said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah pledged the BJP will recover funds allegedly stolen by the TMC in Bengal and promised development schemes for North Bengal, while attacking Mamata Banerjee's governance.
A parliamentary panel has recommended an urgent review of the Rs 1,000 minimum monthly pension under the Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995, to raise it to a more realistic and dignified level, considering the rising cost of living and the financial hardships faced by pensioners.
Delhi University has directed St Stephen's College to halt the absorption of former principal John Varghese into the English department, citing violations of UGC regulations and procedural errors.
Intellius Recode Ltd has filed preliminary papers with SEBI for an IPO comprising a fresh issue of equity shares and an offer for sale by existing shareholders. The funds will be used to develop digital workers and for general corporate purposes.
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The AITUC has suggested utilisation of the entire corpus for creation of the infrastructure development fund. Do you agree?
The over 3.2 crore subscribers to the provident fund may get a lower 9 per cent interest from April instead of the prevailing rate of 9.5 per cent.
Rising stressed debt and past exposures like Reliance Capital, Yes Bank push EPFO to frame exit rules for its portfolio.
Passive funds have resumed gaining ground in the mutual fund (MF) industry after a slowdown in 2024, with their share of assets under management (AUM) reaching an all-time high in 2025. The surge has been driven largely by robust inflows into gold and silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Friday decided to give 8.5 per cent interest on provident fund deposits of 4.5 crore (45 million) subscribers.
The case was registered on the complaint of Pratap Singh, Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, EPFO.
'The tragedy underscored 'serious and widespread' weaknesses in the EPFO's monitoring system and its ability to detect and act against defaulting establishments.'
'They (government) are trying to create market for pension products'.
By transferring your PF account and eschewing withdrawals every time you shift jobs, you can add more to your retirement funds
There has been demand to hike the PF interest rate to 8.90 per cent.
While govt has decided to maintain status quo, don't use the money for house, marriage or education
Your provident fund statement reveals the progress of your retirement savings
Retirement fund body EPFO has extended the deadline for filing EPF return or ECR (electronic challan-cum-return) by one week for the wage month of September till October 22, 2025. The employers are mandated to file the ECR by the 15th of every month.
A section of industry may need to begin compliance immediately, even as most states are yet to notify their rules.
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Rising living expenses, fear of contract hiring cast shadow on real gains.
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