The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is in charge of the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), which is a social insurance plan in India. It is a retirement savings plan that all workers in the organized sector have to take part in.
Concerning EPF in the year 2020, it is important to note that my training data only goes up to September 2021, so I may not have the most up-to-date information on any specific changes or improvements that may have happened since then. But I can give you a general idea of the EPF plan as of the last time I updated what I knew.
Here are a few important things to know about EPF in 2020:
1.Rates of Contribution: Both the employee and the company pay a certain amount of the employee’s income into the EPF. As of September 2021, the payment rate is 12% of the employee’s basic salary plus the dearness grant. The employer’s 12% goes to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS). The remaining 1.1% goes to the EPF’s management costs and the Employee Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) plan.
2.EPF Interest Rate: For the financial year 2019-20, which runs from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, the EPF interest rate was 8.5%. Each year, this interest is added up and put into the employee’s EPF account.
3.Withdrawal and Transfer: The EPF lets you take out some or all of your money in certain situations, like when you quit, lose your job, get married, go to school, have a medical emergency, etc. The EPFO started an online system called “One Member – One EPF Account” in 2020. This system makes it possible for EPF funds to be transferred automatically when an employee moves jobs.
4.COVID-19 Relief steps: In reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian government outlined several steps to help EPF in 2020. These included giving workers who were having trouble paying their bills because of the pandemic non-refundable advances of up to three months’ basic wages and dearness allowance or 75% of the EPF account amount, whichever was less.