Will your take home salary come down with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) raising the wage ceiling for provident fund calculation purposes from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000?On September 17, the government increased the EPFO wage threshold from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000. The revision is expected to extend mandatory coverage to more than 10 million additional workers and give another push to workforce formalisation.
‘Don’t cut salaries’
The labour and employment ministry has instructed employers not to cut employees’ statutory wages following the increase in the EPFO wage ceiling to Rs 25,000.The directive seeks to address concerns that companies may try to absorb the additional employer contribution arising from the revised ceiling by adjusting it against employees’ cost to company (CTC).Also Read | Provident Fund wage ceiling rises to Rs 25,000: What does this mean for you? Top FAQs answeredThe ministry has also urged employers to regard their share of social security contributions as an investment in sound human resource practices, which can help improve employee satisfaction and retention.“The employer’s statutory contribution cannot simply be treated as an employee deduction merely by describing it as part of cost-to-company (CTC),” it said according to an ET report.The ministry has said that employers should ensure that statutory employer contributions are made correctly and that the employees’ statutory wages are not reduced contrary to applicable law.In the frequently asked questions released on the matter, the ministry acknowledged that the revised wage ceiling would inevitably raise employers’ costs.“Employers can partly offset this additional financial burden by the incentive of up to Rs 3,000 per month for every additional employment created under the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana (PMVBRY),” it said, adding that bringing more workers into the formal employment system also strengthens India’s standing as an investment destination.Addressing concerns that the revised wage ceiling could leave employees with less take-home pay, the ministry said any additional amount contributed by workers towards EPF would earn consistently higher interest, qualify for tax benefits and help build a guaranteed pension along with free insurance cover. It described this as a relatively small sacrifice in exchange for financial security over the long term.The ministry has asked employers to begin assessing the employees who will be affected by the change immediately, rather than putting the exercise off until the next salary processing cycle. “The immediate priority should be to identify, calculate, enrol, report, remit and reconcile,” it said.It further clarified that workers earning more than Rs 15,000 but less than Rs 25,000 in salary would have to be enrolled under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS).The employee’s mandatory 12% contribution will be deposited entirely into the EPF. Of the employer’s 12% contribution, 8.33% will be allocated to EPS, with the remaining portion going into the EPF.
Understanding increase in EPFO wage ceiling
Raising the provident fund wage threshold from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 marks a major expansion of social security in recent years. The change is set to bring more employees under provident fund, pension and insurance schemes, while potentially improving retirement benefits for those already enrolled.Under the revised limit, employees whose statutory “wages” do not exceed Rs 25,000 will be covered by PF on a mandatory basis. The change is expected to affect most directly those earning more than Rs 15,000 but no more than Rs 25,000 in statutory wages, as they were not previously required to be covered.The term “wages” here refers specifically to the definition provided under the Code on Social Security, 2020.Those who are already making PF contributions on wages exceeding Rs 25,000 will not have to pay more in total monthly contributions. However, the manner in which the employer’s contribution is divided between the provident fund and pension components could still be revised.Consequently, the effect of the new ceiling will vary according to an employee’s wage level and the basis on which contributions were being calculated before the revision.Previously, with PF contributions capped at the Rs 15,000 wage limit, the maximum monthly contribution stood at Rs 1,800. With the ceiling now raised to Rs 25,000, this amount could go up to Rs 3,000 a month.For workers newly covered by the mandatory framework, the revision opens the door to organised retirement savings, pension benefits and insurance linked to employment. Existing members, meanwhile, could see larger contributions, a revised split between PF and pension, and the possibility of receiving a higher pension over the longer term.
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