EPFO trustees recommend 8.25% interest on EPF for 2025-26
The Central Board of Trustees of the Employees' Provident Fund, chaired by Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, recommended an 8.25% interest rate on EPF deposits for 2025-26 at its 239th meeting in New Delhi on 2 March 2026.
Summary
The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees' Provident Fund, chaired by Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, recommended an annual interest rate of 8.25% on EPF accumulations for 2025-26 at its 239th meeting in New Delhi on 2 March 2026, the same as for 2024-25. The rate will be credited after the Government notifies it. The Board approved a one-time Amnesty Scheme for exempted establishments under the EPF & MP Act, 1952, with a six-month window, expected to settle over 100 active court cases; a single simplified SOP on EPF exemption; and new EPF, EPS and EDLI Schemes, 2026, aligned with the Code on Social Security, 2020. It also approved a pilot for auto-settlement of inoperative accounts with balances of ₹1,000 or less, covering over 1.33 lakh accounts, and the 2024-25 Annual Report, which records 1.23 crore new members.
Key facts
- Date and place
- 2 March 2026, New Delhi
- Meeting
- 239th CBT, chaired by Mansukh Mandaviya
- Interest 2025-26
- 8.25% (same as 2024-25)
- Amnesty
- One-time scheme for exempted establishments; six months
- New schemes
- EPF, EPS and EDLI Schemes 2026 under Code on Social Security, 2020
- Pilot
- Auto-settlement of inoperative accounts ≤ ₹1,000; 1.33 lakh accounts
- Law
- EPF & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
Practice MCQs 4 questions
What interest rate on EPF deposits for 2025-26 did EPFO's Central Board of Trustees recommend on 2 March 2026?
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Correct answer: C — 8.25%
The CBT recommended 8.25%, the same rate as declared for 2024-25.
Who chairs the Central Board of Trustees of the EPF, as at its 239th meeting on 2 March 2026?
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Correct answer: A — Union Labour and Employment Minister
The Union Labour and Employment Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, chaired the meeting; the Central Provident Fund Commissioner is the Member Secretary.
The new EPF, EPS and EDLI Schemes, 2026, approved by the CBT on 2 March 2026, are aligned with which law?
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Correct answer: B — Code on Social Security, 2020
The new schemes were approved for notification under the Code on Social Security, 2020, to replace the current schemes.
Consider the following statements about decisions of the 239th CBT meeting of EPF (2 March 2026): 1. A one-time Amnesty Scheme was approved for exempted establishments under the EPF & MP Act, 1952. 2. A pilot was approved for auto-settlement of inoperative accounts with balances of ₹10,000 or less. Which of the above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: A — 1 only
Only statement 1 is correct. The auto-settlement pilot covers inoperative accounts with unclaimed balances of ₹1,000 or less (over 1.33 lakh accounts), not ₹10,000.