The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) Friday recommended retaining the interest rate at 8.25 per cent for financial year 2024-25 — the same level as previous year. It has over 30 crore total subscribers, out of which around 7.4 crore are active contributing subscribers, sources said. A formal announcement on the same is expected later in the day.
The EPFO’s Board had last year hiked the interest rate to the highest level in three years ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and has now retained it despite an overall rate cut cycle in the economy.
This comes at a time when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had cut the repo rate to 6.25 per cent after holding it at 6.5 per cent for two years on February 7. Before FY24, the EPFO has maintained the interest rate at 8.5 per cent both in 2019-20 and 2020-21, the EPFO had cut the interest rate in 2021-22 to 8.1 per cent, the lowest in four decades. It then hiked it marginally to 8.15 per cent in 2022-23.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment will now send the interest rate recommendation of 8.25 per cent for 2024-25 to the Ministry of Finance for ratification. After the ministry’s consent to the interest rate, the EPFO would credit the rate of interest for the previous fiscal to the EPF subscribers.
Here’s a look at the interest rates over the years:
| Year | EPFO Interest Rate |
| 2010-11 | 9.50% |
| 2011-12 | 8.25% |
| 2012-13 | 8.50% |
| 2013-14 | 8.75% |
| 2014-15 | 8.75% |
| 2015-16 | 8.80% |
| 2016-17 | 8.65% |
| 2017-18 | 8.55% |
| 2018-19 | 8.65% |
| 2019-20 | 8.50% |
| 2020-21 | 8.50% |
| 2021-22 | 8.10% |
| 2022-23 | 8.15% |
| 2023-24 | 8.25% |
| 2024-25* | 8.25% |
*as recommended by CBT, to be approved by Finance Ministry
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