PF Interest: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation is ready to deposit this year’s interest into the accounts of EPF account holders in record time. In this regard, EPFO plans to begin depositing the declared 8.25 percent interest for the year 2025-26 starting in April, with all interest payments expected to be completed by May-June.
Notification issued
However, the EPF is still waiting for the Finance Ministry’s approval to deposit funds at the interest rate announced for the previous financial year. Sources from the Labor Ministry have confirmed this, stating that a notification will be released as soon as the Finance Ministry gives the green light for the 8.25 percent interest rate set by the EPFO Board of Trustees.
Once the notification is issued, the process of depositing interest into EPFO EPF accounts will commence. It is anticipated that the Finance Ministry will approve the interest rate proposal from the EPFO Trustee Board by the first half of April.
Sources indicate that Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has specifically instructed EPFO to prioritize the deposit of interest amounts into account holders’ accounts as quickly as possible, aiming for completion by May-June. In light of this, the EPFO has prepared to deposit interest into over 70 million accounts. Notably, on March 2nd, the EPFO’s Board of Trustees approved a proposal to maintain the 8.25 percent interest rate on EPF for the year 2025-26, without any changes to the rate.
The Finance Ministry does not have to bear the financial burden
The Labor Ministry has agreed to this and sent it to the Finance Ministry, which is now awaiting approval. However, the Finance Ministry typically approves decisions made by the Board of Trustees, as the interest rate is funded by EPFO’s income, meaning the Finance Ministry does not incur any financial burden.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is set to implement a significant change in its system starting next month, on April 1, 2026. Indeed, with the introduction of EPFO 3.0, the process for withdrawing PF will be entirely digital and much quicker. Most notably, users will now have the ability to withdraw their PF funds directly from ATMs using UPI. Let’s explore this further…
