EPFO news! Your Provident Fund interest rate hiked to 8.65% for 2018-19; order cleared says Santosh Gangwar

Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar today said that over 6 crore EPFO members will get 8.65 per cent interest on their Employees Provident Fund deposits for 2018-19. On the sidelines of a function in Delhi, the minister told reporters, "The Central Board of Trustees -- the apex decision-making body of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) -- had approved 8.65 per cent interest rate for the last fiscal in February this year. The proposal was sent for the concurrence of the finance ministry. "...ahead of the festival season, over 6 crore EPFO subscribers would get 8.65 per cent interest for 2018-19."

At present, the EPFO is settling Employees Provident Fund withdrawal claims at 8.55 per cent interest rate, which was approved for 2017-18. 

Notably, the Union labour ministry will notify the interest rates for 2018-19, after getting the finance ministry's concurrence. Then only, the EPFO would give directions to its over 136 field offices to credit the rate of interest into the subscribers' account. The claims of EPFO members would settle accordingly.

According to the EPFO's estimates, there would be a surplus of Rs 151.67 crore after providing 8.65% rate of interest for 2018-19 on EPF. There would have been a deficit of Rs 158 crore on providing 8.7% rate of interest on EPF for the previous financial year, the reason, it decided to extend 8.65% rate of interest for 2018-19. 

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Earlier, the EPFO had reduced the interest rate for 2016-17 to 8.65 per cent as compared with 8.8% for 2015-16.