New Delhi: Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar brought some good news for EPFO subscribers on New Year’s Eve — the 8.5 per cent interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) for 2019-20 will be credited at one go, instead of in two parts, as planned earlier.
This will benefit over 6 crore subscribers of the retirement fund body across the country. Speaking to ThePrint, Gangwar said he met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Thursday morning in this regard, and added that she has given her concurrence to notifying the 8.5 per cent interest rate.
On account of the strain on government finances because of the Covid pandemic, the EPFO had in September decided to split the 8.5 per cent interest into two instalments of 8.15 per cent and 0.35 per cent.
“But we have now decided to credit the entire 8.5 per cent interest into the subscribers’ account at one go,” Gangwar said.
The rate of interest is, however, lower than the 8.65 per cent that subscribers got in 2018-19.
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Rate to be notified
When he announced last year that the EPFO will provide an interest rate of 8.5 per cent, many were sceptical, Gangwar said. “But today, we honoured the commitment that we gave,” he added.
The Central Board of Trustees, which is the apex decision-making body of the EPFO and is headed by Gangwar, had in March this year approved the 8.5 per cent interest rate for the 2019-20 fiscal.
A senior Labour Ministry official told ThePrint that the ministry will now get the rate of return on EPF officially notified, after which it will be credited into subscribers’ accounts.
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