The government has ratified an 8.25% interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund deposits for 2025-26, a source told news agency PTI on 18 June. The rate is likely to be credited to more than seven crore contributing members within the month.
The finance ministry conveyed its concurrence with the rate fixed by the Central Board of Trustees, the apex decision-making body of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation. The CBT had set the 8.25% rate at its meeting on 2 March, chaired by Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. It marks the third consecutive year the rate has held at that level. The EPFO retained 8.25% for 2024-25 and had raised it to 8.25% for 2023-24 from 8.15% the year before.
The source said the EPFO, on the labour ministry’s direction, is likely to credit the interest into subscriber accounts within the month, and that a newly developed system allows the interest to be credited immediately.
The EPF is managed by the EPFO under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Both employer and employee contribute 12% of basic salary and dearness allowance each month, with interest calculated monthly and credited at the financial year’s end. The scheme is compulsory for employees with a basic salary up to ₹15,000.
The decision follows a year of record claim throughput, with the EPFO settling 8.31 crore claims in FY26. A separate government review of the EPF wage ceiling, unchanged at ₹15,000 since 2014, remains under consideration.
