Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar has said that there is no disagreement with the finance ministry on providing 8.55 percent rate of interest for 2017-18 to over fifty million subscribers of retirement fund body EPFO.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation’s apex decision making body Central Board Trustees (CBT) had decided to provide 8.55 percent rate of interest on EFF for last fiscal on February 21, 2018, and sent the proposal to the finance ministry for its concurrence.
“The proposed rate of interest will be ratified by May or June as per convention. There is no disagreement on the proposed interest rate. Had there been any disagreement, we would have got their view by now,” he added.
The minister was responding to the speculations that the finance ministry may not approve the 8.55 percent interest rate on EFF for 2017-18 which is even lower than the 8.65 provided for 2016-17.
After providing 8.55 percent interest for 2017-18, the EPFO would have a surplus of Rs 5.86 billion. The 8.55 percent rate of interest would be the lowest rate in last five year for subscribers.
They got 8.8 percent in 2015-16 and 8.75 percent each in 2013-14 and 2014-15. In 2012-13, the EPFO had provided 8.5 percent rate of interest on EPF.
On enhancing minimum monthly pension under the Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995 run by the EPFO, Gangwar said: “There is no such proposal from the Labour Ministry. The government then (in 2014-15) paid around Rs 8 billion for a minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 under the scheme.”
Source: Business Standard