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Provident Fund Alert: In this festive season, here comes a piece of wonderful news for over 6 crore provident fund subscribers. According to media reports, they are going to receive 8.5 interest rate before Diwali. This time, over 6 crore subscribers will receive the perk by the end of this month.
It must be noted that for the financial year 2020-21, the EPFO has fixed the interest rate on provident fund deposits at 8.5 percent. Due to COVID pandemic, there were more withdrawals and less contribution from members, hence the decision was made by the retiring body.
Furthermore, the EPFO has also cut the interest rate to a seven-year low of 8.5 percent for 2019-20 in March. In 2018-19, the interest rate was 8.65 percent. For the 2017-18 fiscal year, the EPFO gave the subscribers an interest rate of 8.55 percent. However, in 2016-17, the interest rate was 8.65%.
Speaking to Economic Times, a top official of the labour ministry said a meeting was recently held between two ministries to address some of the queries of the finance ministry on the interest rate declared for the previous fiscal. “It should be happening soon,” the official said, referring to the finance ministry’s approval.
However, another official told ET that the finance ministry had raised issues about the rate of interest being higher compared with that of other government schemes, including public provident fund or small saving schemes.
Considering the COVID pandemic, the EPFO recently allowed the subscribers to take money out of their retirement fund as a non-refundable advance. For this purpose, the Centre created a new provision under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) in March 2020 that would allow EPF members to withdraw three months’ basic pay and dearness allowance (DA) or 75 percent of their Provident Fund money as advance,.
Here’s how to check PF Balance:
PF balance via SMS: To check the provident fund balance via SMS, the EPFO members with a universal account number (UAN) can send text “EPFOHO UAN ENG” to 7738299899 from their registered cellphone. After this, they will receive a message providing information about EPF account, including your PF account balance, once the SMS has been successfully sent. In the SMS, the EPFO member must select your preferred communication language.
PF Balance Check through missed call: You can also check your EPF balance by making a missed call from your registered mobile number to the authorised phone number. This facility can be accessed if your UAN has been linked to your KYC information.
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