Finance Ministry has concurred with an EPFO proposal to keep the EPF rate of interest at 8.25% for the third FY in a row | Photo Credit: KAMAL NARANG

The government has retained 8.25 per cent interest rate on employees’ provident fund (EPF) deposits for 2025-26, which is expected to be credited to over seven crore subscribers this month, highly placed sources said on Thursday.

The Finance Ministry has concurred with an EPFO proposal to keep the EPF rate of interest at 8.25 per cent despite headwinds owing to global insecurities, said sources.

The proposal regarding the EPF interest rate was forwarded by the Ministry of Labour and Employment to the Ministry of Finance shortly after the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) finalised their recommendation on March 2, 2026, during the 239th CBT meeting chaired by Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

Formal notification

Now, a formal official notification will be issued this month itself for disbursement of rate of interest directly into the accounts of members of EPFO.

Sources indicated the Ministry is creating enough of a buffer to maintain this interest rate in the near future, barring any unseen major economic upheaval.

This is the third financial year for which the EPF interest rate has remained the same.

In February 2025, the EPFO maintained the interest rate at 8.25 per cent for the 2024–25 fiscal year. This followed a marginal increase in 2024, when the rate was bumped to 8.25 per cent for FY24, up from 8.15 per cent in FY23.

This steadying of rates came after a period of volatility. In March 2022, the retirement fund body cut the interest rate for FY22 to an over four-decade low of 8.10 per cent, down from 8.5 per cent in FY21. To find a lower rate, you would have to look back to FY78, when it stood at 8 per cent. Just two years prior, in March 2020, the EPFO had lowered the rate to a seven-year low of 8.5 per cent for FY20, down from 8.65 per cent in FY19.

Looking further back, the previous decade saw relatively higher yields. Subscribers received 8.55 per cent in FY18, 8.65 per cent in FY17, and a slightly higher 8.8 per cent in FY16. Rates held steady at 8.75 per cent during both FY14 and FY15, up from 8.5 per cent in FY13 and 8.25 per cent in FY12.

Published on June 18, 2026