The EPFO interest rate 2023-24 has been set at 8.25% and it beats a number of other investment vehicles. This includes most major bank’s fixed deposits that generally never exceed 8% interest rate; then there is the Public Provident Fund (PPF) interest rate, which is currently set at 7.1%. The only thing that surpasses this number are the investments in stock markets. However, all the other investment tool mentioned are safe to invest in, but stock markets carry risk, enormous risks at times. And that also includes the New Pension Scheme which can have a large component of the investment deployed in markets.
Workers eye the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) as the biggest source of pension after retirement at 58 years. And anything that puts the retirement income at risk is anathema. While 8.25% EPF interest rate is high and quite welcome, did you know that at one time, this was as high as 12% before it was whittled down to the current state? Yes, that is true and it remained at this high double-digit rate for years altogether.
Of course, there were times when the EPFO interest rate was down, quite down. During the initial years, it was down at 3%, which was for the fiscal 1952-53. EPFO interest rate hit double-digits for the first time in 1985-86 and reached the highest point of 12% in 1989-90. It stayed at 12% for over a decade and since then it has been on a downhill slide when it reached 8.10% in 2021-22. It was increased to 8.15% the next year and finally, EPFO interest rate in 2023-24 has been boosted to 8.25%
You can check the historic EPFO interest rates in the table below:
YEAR
INTEREST
RATE
REMARKS
1952-53
3.00%
1953-54
3.00%
1954-55
3.00%
1955-56
3.50%
1956-57
3.50%
1957-58
3.75%
1958-59
3.75%
1959-60
3.75%
1960-61
3.75%
1961-62
3.75%
1962-63
3.75%
1963-64
4.00%
1964-65
4.25%
1965-66
4.50%
1966-67
4.75%
1967-68
5.00%
1968-69
5.25%
1969-70
5.50%
1970-71
5.70%
1971-72
5.80%
1972-73
6.00%
1973-74
6.00%
1974-75
6.50%
1975-76
7.00%
1976-77
7.50%
1977-78
8.00%
1978-79
8.25%+0.5
% bonus***
*** Bonus for members who did not withdraw any amount from their PF during 1976-
1977 & 1977-1978
1979-80
8.25%
1980-81
8.25%
1981-82
8.50%
1982-83
8.75%
1983-84
9.15%
1984-85
9.90%
1985-86
10.15%
1986-87
11.00%
1987-88
11.50%
1988-89
11.80%
1989-90
12.00%
1990-91
12.00%
1991-92
12.00%
1992-93
12.00%
1993-94
12.00%
1994-95
12.00%
1995-96
12.00%
1996-97
12.00%
1997-98
12.00%
1998-99
12.00%
1999-00
12.00%
2000-01
12%
(*)12% (April-
11%(*)
June, 2001) and
11% (July, 2001
onwards) on
monthly running
balance.
2001-02
9.50%
2002-03
9.50%
2003-04
9.50%
2004-05
9.50% @
(@9% Interest plus 0.5% Golden
Jubilee bonus interest)
2005-06
8.50%
2006-07
8.50%
2007-08
8.50%
2008-09
8.50%
2009-10
8.50%
2010-11
9.50%
2011-12
8.25%
2012-13
8.50%
2013-14
8.75%
2014-15
8.75%
2015-16
8.80%
2016-17
8.65%
2017-18
8.55%
2018-19
8.65%
2019-20
8.50%
2020-21
8.50%
2021-22
8.10%
2022-23
8.15%
Courtesy: EPFO
EPFO interest rate 2023-24 at 8.25% is quite high, but at one time it was 12% and that to for over a decade; check historic EPF interest rates now. Personal Finance Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
