EPFO Added Fewer New Members in March, Shows Data; Maharashtra Added the Most

The number of net members added by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) declined in March this year compared to the previous month. As per data released by the EPFO, in March, 13.40 lakh net members were added compared to 13.96 lakh in February and 14.86 lakh in January.

For the financial year 2022-23, around 1.39 crore net members were added with an increase of 13.22% compared to financial year 2021-22 in which it added around 1.22 crore net members.

State-wise figures show Maharashtra is leading by adding 20.63% of net members followed by Tamil Nadu with 10.83%. Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Mizoram showed month-on-month growth trend in net member addition.

In terms of net member addition, the top five states are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana and Gujarat. These states together constitute 58.68% of net member addition.

Gender-wise, the enrolment of net female members has been 2.57 lakh in March 2023, which is around 19.21% of the net member addition. Of these, 1.91 lakh female members are new employees. This is around 25.16% addition of all the new employees. In February, 2.78 net female members were enrolled under EPFO, of whom 1.89 female members were new.

Out of 13.40 lakh members added during March, around 7.58 lakh new members have come under the ambit of EPFO for the first time. Among the newly added members, the highest enrolment is registered in the age group of 18-21 years with 2.35 lakh members, followed by the age group of 22-25 years with 1.94 lakh members. The 18-25 age group constitutes 56.60% of total new members added during the month.

The Employee’s Pension Scheme (EPS) was introduced in 1995. The scheme, administered by the EPFO, provides employees with a pension after they reach the age of 58. Both the employee and the employer contribute 12% of the employee’s basic salary and Dearness Allowance (DA) to the EPF. While the employee’s entire part goes to EPF, the employer’s contribution goes to EPS at a rate of 8.33%.

The data also highlights that approximately 10.09 lakh members re-joined EPFO membership. These members switched jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under EPFO and opted to transfer accumulations instead of applying for final settlement, thus extending their social security protection.

In March, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees’ Provident Fund suggested an 8.15% interest rate on EPF accumulations in members’ accounts for the financial year 2022-23. Last year, the EPFO slashed the interest on EPF to over a four-decade low of 8.1% from 8.5% in 2020-21.