Interest Rate: An important decision has been taken in the meeting of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). There has been no change in the interest rate on EPF deposits. EPFO ​​​​shareholders will continue to get 8.25 percent interest in the financial year 2025-26 as well. This decision is going to secure the future of lakhs of employees.

In the recent meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) chaired by Union Labour and Employment Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, it was recommended to deposit an 8.25% annual interest rate on EPF deposits. Now after the notification of the Central Government, the interest rate will be credited to the accounts of EPFO ​​​​shareholders. This decision has brought great relief to the employees.

Better returns than other schemes

Before the meeting, there was apprehension that perhaps this time the interest rates could be cut. But this did not happen. Last year also 8.25 percent interest was received on PF. Currently, PF is getting the highest interest compared to other savings schemes. In 2022, the government reduced the interest rate on PF from 8.5 to 8.1 percent. But in 2024, the interest rate was increased to 8.25 percent.

More interest than Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

Currently, 7.1 percent interest is being given to Public Provident Fund (PPF). If the amount is deposited in the post office for 5 years, then 7.5 percent interest will be available. The same interest is on Kisan Vikas Patra. The interest rate on fixed deposits for up to three years is 7.1 percent. Senior Citizen Savings Scheme and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana get 8.2 percent interest. National Savings Certificate has 7.7 percent interest. At the same time, only 4 percent annual interest is being given on post office savings. In this respect, the interest being received on PF is the highest.

Important changes in EDLI

Several important amendments have been made to the Employee Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) in the CBT meeting. If an EPF member dies before one year of regular service, the nominee will get the benefit of life insurance of Rs 50,000. This change will benefit about 5 thousand families.

If an employee dies within six months of the last PF contribution, he will also get the benefit of EDLI. But the condition is that the name of the member should not have been removed from the roll. Earlier such deaths were considered out of service and the family did not get the benefit. This will benefit more than 14 thousand families annually.

If there is a gap of two months between leaving one job and joining another job, it will be considered a regular job. One thousand families will get the benefit of EDLI due to this decision. Earlier, if there was a gap of one or two days between two jobs, the benefit of EDLI of a minimum of Rs 2.5 lakh and a maximum of Rs 7 lakh was not given, as it did not fulfill the condition of continuous service for one year. It is believed that these decisions of CBT will benefit 20 thousand families every year.

What is the EDLI scheme

Employee Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) is an automatic scheme linked to EPF. All employees holding EPF accounts are covered in it. Under the EDLI scheme, the nominee is given the benefit of life insurance in case of the death of the insured employee of EPF.