The government has ratified 8.25 per cent rate of interest on employees' provident fund (EPF) deposits for 2025-26, which is likely to be credited to over seven crore contributing members this month, a source said on Thursday. EPFO provides the rate of interest on EPF after it gets ratified by the government through the finance ministry.
The source told PTI that the finance ministry has given its concurrence to 8.25% rate of interest fixed by Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the apex decision making body of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
Earlier on March 2, 2026, the CBT in a meeting chaired by the Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had decided to fix 8.25% rate of interest for the financial year 2025-26, marking the third consecutive year this rate has been maintained.
Thereafter the proposal was sent to the finance ministry for concurrence as the guarantor of the EPF is the Government of India.
The source said that the finance ministry has approved the proposal after vetting it and the EPFO on the direction of the labour ministry is likely to credit the 8.25% rate of interest for 2025-26 into subscribers' accounts this month only.
The source also said that under the new ecosystem developed by the EPFO, the interest on the EPF will be credited into subscribers' accounts immediately.
In February last year, the EPFO had retained the 8.25% rate of interest for 2024-25 fiscal year. The EPFO, in 2024, increased the interest rate marginally to 8.25% for 2023-24, from 8.15% in 2022-23.
In March 2022, EPFO lowered the interest on post-retirement deposits for 2021-22 to an over four-decade low of 8.10% from 8.5% in 2020-21.
The 8.10% rate for 2020-21 was the lowest since 1977-78, when the rate stood at 8%. In March 2020, EPFO lowered the interest rate on provident fund deposits to a seven-year low of 8.5% for 2019-20, from 8.65% provided for 2018-19.
EPFO provided an 8.65% interest rate to its subscribers in 2016-17 and 8.55% in 2017-18. The rate of interest was slightly higher at 8.8% in 2015-16. The retirement fund body gave 8.75 per cent rate of interest in 2013-14 as well as 2014-15, higher than 8.5 per cent for 2012-13. The rate of interest was 8.25% in 2011-12.
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