EPFO May Retain 8.65% as Interest Rate For FY 2018

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is expected to keep the interest rate unchanged at 8.65% for its 5 crore provident fund members for 2017-18 in its trustees meeting on February 21, 2018.

The EPFO sold exchange-traded funds (ETF) worth Rs 2,886 crore in this month to maintain the 8.65%. It had announced 8.65% has the rate of interest for 2016-17, which is less than the 8.8% for 2015-16.

The EPFO has been investing in ETF since August 2015 and it has so far not monetised the ETF investments. The EPFO has invested around Rs 44,000 crore in the ETFs till date.

The agenda listed for the meeting of the trustees includes the proposal for the rate of interest on the EPF deposits for the current fiscal, sources said.

The trustees may also review the proposal to credit the ETFs into the members EPF account because a large number of members do not have that level of financial literacy.

It is proposed that the members should be given the option to have ETF credits in their EPF account.

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Inputs from PTI