2-day EPFO board meeting from today: List of issues likely to be taken up

The 233rd meeting of the body's Central Board of Trustees (CBT) will be held under the leadership of Bhupender Yadav, the Union minister for labour and employment.

The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will convene in New Delhi on Monday for a 2-day meet, during which they are expected to discuss a host of issues, including the interest rate for the financial year (FY) 2023-24.

FILE Photo: Employees provident fund organisation head office , EPFO office.

The current meeting of the CBT, its 233rd, will be held under the leadership of Bhupender Yadav, the Union minister for labour and employment.

At present, EPFO has around 6 crore active members, of whom 72.73 lakh were pensioners in FY22, according to Moneycontrol.

Here are some issues that may be discussed during the meeting:

Interest rate: For FY23, the interest rate is likely to be around 8%. The existing rate is 8.1%, which was proposed in March last year for FY22, and approved by the Union finance ministry in June of that year.

The existing rate is the lowest offered by the body in 4 decades.

Higher pension: The board may hold detailed discussions regarding the higher pension option for subscribers after the Supreme Court order. Following the order, EPFO gave employees time till May 3, to opt for higher pension linked to their salaries.

Minimum pension: The CBT may consider increasing the monthly pension from ₹1,000 to ₹3,000, which would be in-line with recommendations made by the parliamentary panel on labour.

Ceiling wage: It is likely to be raised from the current ₹15,000 per month to ₹20,000 per month. It was previously revised in 2014, when it was increased from ₹6,000 a month to ₹15,000 a month, for companies with at least 20 employees.

Besides these, board members may also discuss steps to improve EPFO's coverage for its workers, along with increasing investment of incremental deposits in equity instruments, age or risk profile of subscribers notwithstanding.