The government has approved 8.25 percent interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) deposits for the financial year 2025-26. It is likely to be deposited in the accounts of more than seven crore shareholder members this month itself, a source said on Thursday.
The interest rate decided by the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is implemented after getting the approval of the government through the Finance Ministry. The source said that the Finance Ministry has given its approval to the 8.25 percent interest rate set by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the highest decision-making body of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO).
8.25% interest rate remains intact
Earlier, in the CBT meeting chaired by Union Labor Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on March 2, 2026, the interest rate was fixed at 8.25 percent for the financial year 2025-26. This is the third consecutive year when this rate has been maintained. After this, this proposal was sent to the Finance Ministry, because the guarantor of EPF is the Government of India. The source said that the Finance Ministry has approved this proposal after investigation and on the instructions of the Labor Ministry, EPFO can deposit 8.25 percent interest amount for 2025-26 in the accounts of the shareholders this month itself.
Interest money will come directly into the account
He also said that under the new mechanism developed by EPFO, now the interest will be deposited directly and quickly into the accounts of the shareholders. In February last year, EPFO had kept the interest rate unchanged at 8.25 percent for the financial year 2024-25. EPFO had slightly increased the interest rate for 2023-24 to 8.25 percent in 2024, which was 8.15 percent in 2022-23. In March 2022, the organization had reduced the interest rate for 2021-22 to 8.10 percent, which was the lowest level in more than four decades. Earlier in 2020-21, this rate was 8.5 percent and in the financial year 1977-78 it was eight percent. In March 2020, EPFO had reduced the interest rate on provident fund deposits to 8.5 percent for 2019-20, which was 8.65 percent in 2018-19. The organization had given interest rate of 8.65 percent in 2016-17 and 8.55 percent in 2017-18, whereas in 2015-16 this rate was 8.8 percent. The interest rate in the financial year 2013-14 and 2014-15 was 8.75 percent, which was more than 8.5 percent in 2012-13 and this rate was 8.25 percent in the financial year 2011-12.
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