The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation on Monday recommended an 8.25 per cent annual interest on employees’ provident fund deposits for the current financial year.

The recommendation needs finance ministry approval before the benefits
can be passed on to EPFO members.

A PTI report said this was the third straight year the retirement fund body had recommended an interest of 8.25 per cent. The interest rate was 8.15 per cent in 2022-23.

The Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the statutory body representing the government, workers and industry that decides EPF policy issues, met here under the chairmanship of labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

In a Press Information Bureau release, the labour ministry said the EPFO had maintained strong financial discipline despite global uncertainties, ensuring stable and competitive returns without straining the interest account.

“EPFO has been able to declare an interest rate of above 8 per cent for the past several years owing to good returns given by ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) and other investments,” the release said.

“The decision reflects the strong credit profile of EPFO’s investment portfolio and its sustained ability to deliver competitive returns to its members.”

The EPFO, with its 8 crore contributing members, has a corpus of nearly ₹28 lakh crore. Nearly 8 lakh establishments are registered with the organisation.

The CBT also approved a one-time amnesty scheme to address compliance issues arising from income tax-recognised trusts that are yet to be covered or granted exemption under the EPF & MP Act, 1952, taking into account the provisions of the Finance Act, 2026.

The proposed scheme seeks to bring establishments and trusts into compliance within a defined six-month period, primarily to protect workers’ interests while waiving damages, interest and penalties for those that have already provided benefits equal to or better than the statutory scheme.

It allows retrospective relaxation or exemption subject to specified conditions and ensures that all eligible employees receive statutory benefits.

The measure is expected to resolve a large number of litigations, benefiting thousands of trust members.

The CBT approved the new simplified standard operating procedure (SOP) on EPF exemption, consolidating the existing four SOPs and the exemption manual into a single comprehensive framework, aiming to reduce the compliance burden.

The SOP also provides an end-to-end digital process for the surrender and transfer of past accumulations.

The CBT has approved the notification of new social security schemes under the Code on Social Security, 2020. The newly approved EPF Scheme, 2026, EPS, 2026, and EDLI Scheme, 2026, will replace the current schemes.

For the liquidation of inoperative accounts, the board approved a pilot project for the auto-initiation of claim settlements in inoperative EPFO accounts with unclaimed balances of ₹1,000 or less.

Based on the success of the pilot, the facility will be extended in subsequent phases to accounts with balances above ₹1,000.

According to the EPF Act, EPFO membership is mandatory for all establishments employing 20 people or more, earning wages less than or equal to ₹15,000 a month.