The board of trustees of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will hold its 229th meeting today where they are likely to discuss issues like a hike in provident fund (PF) interest rate, hike in minimum pension under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 and expansion of EPFO’s investment basket, reports said.
The board, comprising government officials, workers, and employers, is a government-created statutory body that was established under Section 5A of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
PF interest rate
In FY 19, the EPFO offered 8.65 percent return on deposits, while the rate was 8.55 percent in FY18. Speculation is rife that the EPFO may raise the interest rates for FY2021-22 in today’s meeting.
Fixed minimum pension
Another issue on the agenda is raising the fixed minimum pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000. The EPFO had fixed minimum pension at Rs 1,000 in 2014. However, central trade unions have called for a hike in the minimum level to Rs 6,000. Noting that the current minimum pension was inadequate, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour headed by Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab has recommended the minimum pension be raised from Rs 1,000 to at least Rs 3,000.
“Even this meagre amount of Rs 1,000 is reportedly not being given to many pensioners owing to various reasons and pension amounts as low as Rs 460 are being disbursed,” the panel said in its report.
Expanding investment portfolio
The EPFO board of trustees may also explore possibilities of investing a portion of its corpus in alternative investment funds (AIFs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs). This would expand the EPFO’s investment basket beyond government securities, bonds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). On the other hand, the move will also boost investments in infrastructure.
(Edited by : Anshul)
First Published: IST
