EPF calculator: How to build Rs 2.23 crore corpus
The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is a long-term savings scheme designed for employees. Both employees and employers contribute to the EPF account, with the contributions growing steadily over time through compound interest. The EPF membership is mandatory for employees earning up to Rs 15,000 as basic pay and is optional for those earning more than Rs 15,000, who joined their job on or after September 1, 2014.
As an employee's salary increases, they can also increase their monthly contribution from the minimum of Rs 1,800. With regular EPF contributions over a long period, the accumulated balance compounds and contributes to a substantial retirement corpus. A corpus of Rs 2.23 crore can be built through consistent EPF contributions.
To illustrate, consider an employee earning a basic salary of Rs 50,000 per month. In this scenario, the employee's EPF contribution is assumed to be 12% of the basic wages. The EPF interest rate is set at 8.25%, and the employee's EPF contribution is 12% of their salary. The investment period is flexible, with an annual salary increase of 6%. The EPF maturity amount is Rs 2,23,50,738, with total EPF contributions amounting to Rs 66,52,938 and total interest earned being Rs 1,56,97,800.
The EPF corpus reaches Rs 2.23 crore due to the interest earned on the contributions during the entire period. As the salary increases, both employee and employer contributions also increase, ensuring a growing EPF balance. The final EPF balance depends on the employee's actual salary, yearly increments, contributions, gaps in employment, employer contributions, and the EPF interest rate declared throughout the 30-year period.
EPF members can contribute voluntarily above the statutory rate of 12% of Rs 15,000, with the total contribution reaching Rs 15,000 per month. However, the employer cannot deduct their EPF share from the employee's wages, as it is a criminal offense. An EPF member can retain their provident fund account till the withdrawal of their dues, but if the account remains inactive for three years, interest won't be credited after the third year.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
