EPFO News : The government has made several announcements and promises for the middle class in Budget 2025. The most important thing in this is to make annual income up to Rs 12 lakh tax free. Now the government may soon give another gift to the planned middle class, in the form of an increase in the interest rate of the provident fund (PF).
The decision will be taken in the EPFO board meeting.
The meeting of the trustees of the central board of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is scheduled to be held on February 28. It may discuss raising the interest rate on PF for 2024-25. The meeting will be chaired by the Union Minister of Labour. Representatives of employers’ associations and trade unions will also participate in it. However, the official agenda of the meeting has not been released yet.
Why can the interest rate of PF be increased?
The government’s full focus is currently on reviving the economy, which requires increasing demand and consumption. That is why the government is giving relief to the middle class through gradual measures. After increasing the income tax exemption limit, the government may now consider increasing the interest rate of PF. This will allow middle-class employees to earn more on PF savings so that they can increase other expenses.
How much is the interest on PF now?
The government has been increasing interest for two years. In such a situation, PF account holders hope that interest rates can increase this time too. The government had increased the interest rate of PF to 8.15 per cent in 2022-23. Then it was increased to 8.25 per cent in 2023-24. Since then, the same interest rate on PF has been received, which the government may now consider increasing.
How much interest can EPFO increase?
Given the current base rate of banks, there is no scope for a significant increase in PF interest rates. In such a situation, the government can increase the rate by 0.10 percent like last time. EPFO has more than seven crore people in the country. New members are constantly joining it. The number of people depositing money in EPFO’s pension fund is also constantly increasing.
