EPFO takes a big decision before Holi. The Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has decided to keep the interest rate on Provident Fund deposits, or EPF, at 8.25 percent for the 2024-25 financial year. This rate remains the same as last year, meaning there’s no increase in interest.
Next up, a decision will be made regarding small savings schemes like the Public Provident Fund and Sukanya Samriddhi before March 31. There’s speculation that the government might lower the interest rates for these schemes.
What’s behind this?
In December, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced the repo rate. To encourage spending, the Finance Ministry might think about cutting rates for small savings schemes in the upcoming financial year. Currently, the interest rate for Sukanya Samriddhi is set at 8.2 percent, while post office savings deposit schemes, aside from PPF, are at 7.1 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
What’s the update on EPF?
The Ministry of Labor announced that during a meeting on Friday, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) decided to maintain the EPF interest rate at 8.25 percent for 2024-25. The government will officially notify this rate, and then EPFO will credit the interest to members’ accounts.
This decision was made during the 237th meeting of the CBT, led by Union Labor and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. The ministry highlighted that the EPF offers relatively high and stable returns compared to many other fixed-income options, helping to steadily grow savings. Just to note, in February 2024, the EPFO slightly raised the EPF interest rate from 8.15 percent in 2022-23 to 8.25 percent for 2023-24.
