On 17th September 2024, the Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoL&E) announced that now subscribers of the Employees ‘Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) can withdraw up to Rs 1 lakh from their Provident Fund (PF) accounts for personal financial needs, an increase from the current limit of Rs 50,000.
- This new withdrawal limit was increased because the earlier cap had become outdated due to changing consumption expenditures.
- He also announced that employees who have not completed 6 months in the current job are now eligible to withdraw amounts, which was earlier prohibited.
Key Changes:
i.He mentioned that the labor ministry has implemented host of changes to the EPFO’s operations, including a new digital framework and updated guidelines to improve flexibility and responsiveness, minimizing inconveniences for subscribers.
ii.The Government of India (GoI) is currently working on the proposal to increase the income ceiling under the EPFO and Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) from the current Rs 15,000 per month and Rs 21,000 respectively.
iii.The GoI has allowed organisations that are not part of the EPFO to transition to the state-run retirement fund manager.
- Some businesses were allowed to operate their own private retirement schemes due to an exemption, because their funds were established before the EPFO was created in 1954.
iv.The GoI offers more flexibility to employees who earn more than Rs15,000 as now they have the choice to determine what percentage of their income they would like to save for retirement benefits and pension.
Key Facts:
i.It is mandatory for the companies with 20 or more employees to contribute to PFs under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act of 1952. This includes a deduction of minimum 12% of an employee’s salary, with the employer also contributing an additional 12%.
ii.At present, EPFO is giving 8.25% interest rate on savings for the Financial Year 2024-25 (FY25).
Recent Related News:
On 19th August 2024, Ashok Kumar Singh, 1999 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Kerala cadre, took over as the Director General (DG) of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under the Ministry of Labour & Employment(MoL&E), Government of India at its headquarters in New Delhi, Delhi.
About Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoL&E):
Union Minister- Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya (Constituency- Porbandar, Gujarat)
Minister of State (MoS) – Shobha Karandlaje(Constituency- Bangalore North, Karnataka)
About Employees ‘Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO):
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Neelam Shami Rao
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
Established- 1952
