EPFO Board To Meet In March End: Here's What To Expect

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New Delhi: The Workers' Provident Fund Organisation's central board of trustees will meet on March 25 and 26 to decide the interest rates for provident fund deposits year 2022–2023. The interest rate for the current fiscal year, as the EPFO, determines its earnings, maybe around 8 percent, according to a story in ET.

According to the study, the retirement organization's investment returns have been strong this year as a result of the sharp decline in withdrawals due to Covid. ()

According to sources cited by ET in the story, based on stronger returns on equity investments, the EPFO could either keep the existing interest rate of 8.1 percent or lower it to 8 percent. ()

As it approaches important state assembly elections this year and general elections next year, the central government is unlikely to make any significant changes to interest rates, an official told ET.

The interest rate for 2021–22, which the EPFO set at 8.1 percent, was the lowest in four decades and much lower than the 8.5 percent credited the year before.

EPFO began investing in equities in 2015–16, allocating 5 percent of its additional corpus in the first year, 10% in the second year, and 15 percent in the following years.

According to government records, EPFO has invested a total of Rs. 1.7 lakh crore, of which Rs. 22,000 crore had been redeemed as of March 31, 2022.

Typically, EPFO uses exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the Nifty and Sensex platforms to invest its additional corpus of Rs 1.5 lakh crore in equity.