No Cut in EPF Interest: Centre Upholds Employees’ Financial Security at 8.25%

New Delhi(The Uttam Hindu): The Centre has approved the interest rate for employees' provident fund (PF) deposits at 8.25 percent for the fiscal year 2024-25, keeping it consistent with the previous year. Back in February, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had already announced that the interest rate would remain at 8.25 percent for FY25. This decision was made during a meeting of the EPFO's Central Board of Trustees held in the national capital.

Recently, the Ministry of Finance has confirmed the interest rate for employees' PF at 8.25 percent for FY25. Additionally, a notification from the Labour Ministry was sent to the retirement fund body this week, as reported by reliable sources on Saturday. Members of the EPFO can expect the interest rate for 2024-25 to be credited to their accounts soon.

The EPFO had earlier increased the interest rate on EPF for its 7 crore members to 8.25 per cent for 2023-24, from 8.15 per cent in 2022-23. Meanwhile, EPFO added 14.58 lakh net members in March, and an increase of 1.15 per cent in net payroll additions compared to March 2024. The PF organisation enrolled around 7.54 lakh new subscribers in March 2025, representing a 2.03 per cent increase over February and 0.98 per cent (year-over-year) growth compared to the previous year in March 2024.

According to the Labour Ministry, the growth in new subscribers can be attributed to growing employment opportunities, increased awareness of employee benefits, and EPFO's successful outreach programmes. A noticeable aspect of the data is the dominance of the 18-25 age group, as 4.45 lakh new subscribers were added in the 18-25 age group, constituting a significant 58.94 per cent of the total new subscribers added in March 2025.

Further, the net payroll addition for the age group 18-25 for March was approximately 6.68 lakh -- reflecting a growth of 6.49 per cent from the previous year in March 2024.