Another Diwali Bonanza for Central Govt Employees! EPFO Starts Crediting Interest

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has started crediting the interest on provident fund (PF) accounts for the financial year 2022–23, with an interest rate of 8.15%. The government body said that the process is in the pipeline and may take some time for the amount to reflect in all accounts.

This comes at a time when the government has hiked the dearness allowance (DA) to 46% for central government employees, and many states have followed suit. Bonuses were also disbursed last month. This means that a large number of employees will be receiving a boost to their financial savings in the form of EPF interest and DA/bonus payouts.

The PF interest rate is decided every year by EPFO's Central Board of Trustees (CBT) in consultation with the Ministry of Finance. This year, the interest rate was announced in June by the EPFO.

Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav has said that the interest has already been credited in over 24 crore accounts.

Some users have already received their EPF interest payouts, but the EPFO has stated that it may take some time for the amount to reflect in all accounts. The EPFO has assured users that the interest will be credited in full, and that there will be no loss of interest. Users are requested to be patient while the EPFO completes the process.

Once the interest is credited, it will be reflected in the individual's PF account. One can check the provident fund account balance in multiple ways:

• Text message: Send EPFOHO UAN to 7738299899
• Missed call: Give a missed call to 011-22901406
• UMANG app: Download the UMANG app and register with your UAN
• EPFO website: Log in to the EPFO website with your UAN and password

Additionally, here are some of the benefits of the EPF scheme:

• It provides financial security to employees in the form of a retirement corpus.
• It helps employees save money on taxes.
• It provides employees with a loan facility in case of an emergency.
• It is a government-backed scheme, so it is safe and reliable.

Overall, the EPF scheme is a beneficial scheme for employees, and the crediting of interest to PF accounts is a welcome move.