Government approves 8.15% as interest rate for EPF in FY2022-23

The interest rate for Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) accounts for the fiscal year 2022–2023 was approved by the government on Monday.

According to a circular issued by the retirement organisation Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on July 24, 2023, the declared interest rate is 8.15 percent. The EPFO has instructed all filing offices to credit the interest on EPF for the fiscal year 2022–2023 at a rate of 8.15 percent into the corresponding accounts of its members.

To credit interest at 8.15% for the year 2022–2023 to the accounts of each member of the EPF Scheme in accordance with the provisions under Paragraph 60 of the EPF Scheme, 1952, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, has received approval from the Central Government under Paragraph 60(1) of the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme, 1952. In order to credit the aforementioned interest to the members’ accounts, you are thus instructed to issue the necessary instructions to all parties involved, according to the circular.

The directive was issued following approval of the EPF rate of interest by the EPFO trustees in March of this year by the finance minister. According to the circular, the EPFO field offices will begin the process of crediting the interest to the accounts of the subscribers.

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) reduced the interest rate on EPF deposits for the fiscal year 2021–2022 to 8.10% in March 2022, which was a decrease from 8.5% in 2020–2021 and represented the lowest rate in forty years.

Since 1977–1978, when the EPF interest rate was 8%, this was the lowest interest rate ever observed.

A crucial social security and retirement benefit programme, the EPFO-managed EPF fund strives to give workers financial security after retirement.

An employee makes a monthly contribution to their EPF account equal to 12% of their salary, with the entire amount going to the EPF account. Employer contributions to the EPF account total just 3.67 percent, with the remaining 8.33 percent going to the Employees Pension Scheme (EPS).