Glossary · HR, Payroll & Labour Law
EPF
Employees' Provident Fund — a government-managed retirement savings scheme for salaried employees under the EPF & MP Act, 1952.
EPF is mandatory for establishments with 20+ employees and covers employees earning basic + DA up to ₹15,000 (or more if the employer agrees). The contribution is 12% of basic + DA: 8.33% goes to the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) and 3.67% to the EPF. The employer matches 12%. The employee can voluntarily contribute up to 100% of basic + DA under VPF. The corpus is tax-free at maturity if withdrawn after 5 years of continuous service, and partial withdrawals for specific purposes (house, medical, education) are tax-free.
Examples
A 30-year-old earning ₹50,000/month (basic ₹20,000) contributes 12% = ₹2,400 monthly, growing to over ₹1 crore by retirement at 8.15% interest.