EPFO wage ceiling ₹25,000 — citizen guide 2026

The Union Cabinet on 16 September 2026 raised the wage ceiling for mandatory EPFO coverage from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month. Labour Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said the new ceiling takes effect from 17 September 2026, Vishwakarma Jayanti and Sewa Divas. More than 51 lakh extra employees are expected to come under provident fund, EPS pension and EDLI insurance.

If you are short on time, read the deduction table, then the withdrawal rules, then the RTI sample.

The wage ceiling is the monthly wage limit used for mandatory EPFO membership and for the statutory contribution cap. Below the ceiling, coverage is compulsory in a covered establishment. Above it, a new joiner is an excluded employee unless the member and employer contribute on higher wages. The ceiling also caps the EPS pensionable wage.

The Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, approved the Ministry of Labour and Employment proposal on 16 September 2026. The official PIB Cabinet note (Release ID 2310811) says:

• the ceiling moves from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month
• more than 51 lakh additional employees are expected under mandatory coverage
• access expands to EPF savings, EPS pension and EDLI insurance, subject to the scheme rules
• annual government outgo is estimated at about ₹11,339 crore, against existing budgetary support of about ₹10,250 crore
• five-year outgo is estimated at about ₹56,696 crore

A second PIB Labour Ministry note (Release ID 2310973) records Dr. Mandaviya's briefing: the revised ceiling comes into effect on 17 September 2026. Both notes say the Ministry and EPFO will complete the statutory and administrative steps.

The last hike was in September 2014, when the ceiling moved from ₹6,500 to ₹15,000. It had stayed at ₹6,500 from 2004 to 2014. PIB says several States now have minimum wages near the old ₹15,000 line, so the old cap no longer matched the labour market.

Gazette watch. The Code on Social Security, 2020, section 2(89), lets the Central Government notify the wage ceiling. On 29 May 2026 that ceiling was still ₹15,000, by S.O. 2702(E). The Cabinet decision of 16 September 2026 is the policy. Payroll and claims should follow the replacement notification on egazette.gov.in and the live circulars on epfindia.gov.in. Until that instrument is on the gazette, quote the PIB date of 17 September 2026 and keep a copy of your wage register.

EPFO currently administers about 7.98 crore contributing members across about 7.68 lakh contributing establishments. EPS pays about 82 lakh pensioners. Those figures are from the 16 September 2026 Cabinet note.

This wiki does not host the government list. Use the official sites above.

EPFO is a statutory social-security body under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. From 29 June 2026 the operative schemes sit under the Code on Social Security, 2020 (36 of 2020), Chapter III:

• Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 2026, notified as G.S.R. 525(E) dated 29 June 2026, in supersession of the EPF Scheme, 1952
• Employees' Pension Scheme, 2026, G.S.R. 527(E) dated 29 June 2026, in supersession of the Employees' Family Pension Scheme, 1971 and the Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995
• Employees' Deposit-Linked Insurance Scheme, 2026, notified the same day in supersession of the EDLI Scheme, 1976

The EPF Scheme, 2026 is in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(i), No. 473 of 29 June 2026, CG-DL-E-01072026-273957. File No. S-35025/04/2026-SS-II. Download the English text from egazette.gov.in (G.S.R. 525(E) PDF).

Membership. Paragraph 2(f) of the 2026 Scheme defines an excluded employee as a person whose wage, at the time the person is otherwise entitled to become a member, exceeds the wage ceiling prescribed under the Code. A new joiner at or below the ceiling is a member. A new joiner above the ceiling is excluded unless the Scheme's voluntary-contribution route is used.

Contribution rate. Paragraph 18: employer 12% of wages, employee an equal 12%. A notified class of establishments pays 10%. Contributions are limited to the notified wage ceiling unless higher wages are paid under paragraph 19 (voluntary) or under a permitted higher-pension case.

Wages, not a stripped basic. Section 2(88) of the Code defines wages as basic pay, dearness allowance and retaining allowance, and then excludes listed items such as bonus, house-rent allowance, overtime and commission. The first proviso adds back any excess if those excluded payments go above one-half of all remuneration. In plain words: if allowances are more than 50% of pay, the extra is treated as wages. The Supreme Court had already applied a universality test to “basic wages” under the old Act in Regional Provident Fund Commissioner (II) West Bengal v. Vivekananda Vidyamandir (28 February 2019). Universal allowances paid to all in a category were treated as basic wages. The Code now writes a 50% floor into the statute.

RTI. EPFO is a public authority under section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005. You can ask for existing records: the wage-ceiling notification, your service and wage history, the Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) for named months, a claim scrutiny sheet, and the reason a claim was rejected. You cannot use RTI to order EPFO to pay a claim. For drafting, use the AI RTI Drafter.

Use this as a first screen. Your establishment must already be covered under Chapter III of the Code.

“Wages” here is the Code definition, not CTC and not a private “basic” that an employer invented to stay under the old cap.

Rates did not change. The base did.

On a wage equal to the new ceiling of ₹25,000:

Compare that with the old ceiling of ₹15,000: employee ₹1,800, employer ₹1,800, EPS about ₹1,250.

If your wages are ₹22,000, the statutory 12% is on ₹22,000, not on ₹25,000. If your wages are ₹40,000, the statutory 12% is on ₹25,000 unless you use paragraph 19 voluntary contributions.

Take-home. A member moving from a ₹15,000 statutory base to a ₹25,000 base sees employee PF rise by ₹1,200 a month. The employer cost also rises by ₹1,200 a month on that extra ₹10,000, plus any EDLI and administrative charges that apply.

Voluntary extra PF. Paragraph 19 is clear:

1. you may contribute on wages above the ceiling, at the statutory rate or at a higher rate
2. the employer may match that extra amount, but is under no duty to match
3. you or the employer may reduce or stop the extra contribution at any time
4. extra employer amounts go to the Provident Fund
5. extra administrative charges apply on those wages

Do not assume that raising your VPF automatically raises the employer's 12%.

Due date. Paragraph 20: the employer pays both shares, plus charges, within 15 days of the close of every month. For contract workers in an establishment that is not independently registered, the principal employer remains responsible with the contractor.

Paragraph 46 rebuilt partial withdrawals. The old Scheme, 1952 used many purpose-specific paragraphs. The 2026 Scheme groups the same needs into three buckets, then applies one minimum-balance rule.

Minimum balance. After any partial withdrawal, the member's account must still hold 25% of the aggregate of employee share + employer share + interest up to that date. The amount you can actually take is the Eligible Member Balance: current credit minus that 25%. The smallest partial withdrawal is ₹1,000.

Twelve months' membership. For the listed purposes, you generally need 12 months' total membership of the Fund. Paragraph 47 counts earlier service in the same establishment, earlier Fund membership, and certain exempt-trust periods, if you did not already close the account.

If you leave before 12 months. Paragraph 46(5) still lets you take a partial withdrawal, but not more than the Eligible Member Balance on that date.

Full settlement is a different paragraph. Paragraph 49 lets you withdraw the full credit:

1. on retirement after age 55 (or if you turn 55 before payment is authorised)
2. on permanent and total incapacity, with the medical certificate the paragraph describes
3. immediately before permanent migration or employment abroad
4. on mass or individual retrenchment
5. on a mutual voluntary retirement scheme
6. in specified transfer-to-uncovered-establishment cases, after 2 months

In other cases of leaving a covered job, paragraph 49(2) allows full withdrawal only after you have not been employed in any factory or establishment to which the Code applies for a continuous 12 months. That waiting period does not apply to a female member who resigns in order to get married.

Worked numbers, not a reported case: a member with ₹4,00,000 in the Fund has a 25% floor of ₹1,00,000. The Eligible Member Balance is ₹3,00,000. An illness or housing claim after 12 months' membership can take up to ₹3,00,000. The remaining ₹1,00,000 stays until a paragraph 49 full-settlement event.

File the claim on the member portal or UMANG after UAN, Aadhaar, PAN and bank KYC are live. Never pay a private “agent” to unlock PF. If money left the account without your consent, follow EPFO PF withdrawal fraud recovery.

For the paragraph-level withdrawal map, see the companion page EPF withdrawal rules 2026, what is official.

1. Passbook: passbook.epfindia.gov.in with UAN and password.
2. Member e-Sewa: epfindia.gov.in → Member / Unified portal. Track claim status under Online Services.
3. UMANG app: official EPFO services, including UAN activation by Aadhaar face authentication.
4. Missed call / SMS: use only the numbers printed on the current EPFO site. They have changed before; copy them from the live page, not from an old blog.

Step-by-step balance and claim tracking is on how to check EPF balance and claim status. Activate a silent UAN with UAN activation 2026.

Interest for 2025-26 was recommended at 8.25% by the Central Board of Trustees. A recommendation is not a credit. Track the government notification on EPF interest 2025-26.

TDS on a premature withdrawal (generally before 5 years' continuous service, above ₹50,000) is under Income-tax Act section 192A. Rate 10% with PAN on record; a much higher rate without PAN. Transfers are not withdrawals. See TDS on PF withdrawal, section 192A.

EPS. Part of the employer's 12% is diverted at 8.33% of the wage ceiling into the pension fund. On a full ₹25,000 ceiling that diversion is ₹2,082.50 a month, up from about ₹1,250. Your monthly pension still depends on pensionable service and pensionable salary under the Employees' Pension Scheme, 2026. A higher ceiling raises the pensionable-wage cap for new service after the change. It does not, by itself, rewrite past service.

Higher pension on actual wages is a separate option with arrears. It shrinks the EPF lump sum. Read EPS higher pension: status and whether to opt before you sign anything.

EDLI. Membership of EPF brings deposit-linked life insurance under the EDLI Scheme, 2026. There is no employee contribution. The benefit formula and any rupee cap are in that scheme. Do not rely on an old “₹7 lakh” headline. Read the current EDLI paragraph on epfindia.gov.in at the time you need the figure.

Nomination. Paragraph 44 requires an e-nomination. A nomination made before marriage becomes invalid on marriage; file a fresh one. A nominee who is a minor needs a guardian named in the nomination.

1. Recalculate the PF wage for every employee in the ₹15,001 to ₹25,000 band.
2. Enrol anyone who was treated as excluded only because wages sat above ₹15,000.
3. Separate statutory contributions from voluntary contributions in the ECR.
4. Deposit both shares within 15 days of month-end.
5. For contract labour, the principal employer is jointly responsible with the contractor (paragraphs 20 and 27). If the contractor does not deposit, the principal employer still owes the money.

VISHWAS, 2026 is a time-bound damages/penalty settlement window notified as part of G.S.R. 525(E). PIB Release ID 2285666 (17 July 2026) says it opened on 29 June 2026 for six months. Employers apply on the employer portal with DSC or e-Sign, after paying the full statutory interest. Fraud and already-recovered damages are excluded. Confirm on the live EPFO employer portal whether the window is still open before you file.

The Annexure to the 2026 Scheme also contains the Employees' Enrolment Campaign, 2026 and an amnesty track for exempted trusts. Those are employer-side regularisation tools, not member withdrawal shortcuts.

1. 1. Confirm the establishment is covered. Ask HR for the EPFO establishment ID. If HR says “we are not covered”, ask for the written basis. A covered factory or notified establishment cannot opt out of Chapter III for eligible employees.
2. 2. Get or activate your UAN. Twelve-digit Universal Account Number. Activate on UMANG with Aadhaar face authentication. Guide: activate your UAN.
3. 3. Seed KYC. Aadhaar, PAN, bank account with IFSC, and a live mobile number. Name and date of birth must match Aadhaar.
4. 4. Read the passbook. Check that the wage used for PF matches your salary slip after the ceiling change. If the employer is still depositing on ₹15,000 while your wages are ₹22,000, raise it in writing and keep the reply.
5. 5. File the right transaction. Transfer (job change), partial withdrawal (para 46), full settlement (para 49), or pension. These are not interchangeable.
6. 6. Save the claim ID. Screenshot the acknowledgement.
7. 7. If it stalls, use EPFiGMS. epfigms.gov.in with UAN OTP. One issue per grievance. Ask for the recorded deficiency, not a generic “under process”. Full route: EPFO grievance and escalation.
8. 8. If the record is missing, file RTI. Section 6(1), ₹10 fee, 30 days under section 7(1). Draft with the AI RTI Drafter. First appeal under section 19(1) if there is silence or an evasive reply; the First Appeal Builder writes that letter. Check a reply against the Act with the PIO Reply Checker. Count the clock with the Timeline Tracker.

• UAN and Aadhaar-linked mobile
• Aadhaar, PAN, cancelled cheque or passbook (bank KYC)
• Latest salary slips showing basic, DA and other components
• Date of joining / date of exit, if you have left
• Claim ID or acknowledgement after you file
• EPFiGMS registration number if you already complained
• For RTI: your postal address, ₹10 Indian Postal Order or the online RTI fee, and the exact record you want

• Treating a Cabinet PIB note as a substitute for the section 2(89) gazette. Quote both. (Code on Social Security, 2020, s. 2(89); PIB 2310811 and 2310973.)
• Assuming 12% of CTC is PF. PF is on wages as defined in s. 2(88), capped at the ceiling, unless you opted for more.
• Assuming the employer must match VPF. Paragraph 19(2) says the employer is under no obligation to match.
• Filing a full-settlement claim two months after resignation as if the 1952 two-month rule still governed every case. Paragraph 49(2) now uses 12 months of non-employment, with a marriage exception for women.
• Withdrawing 100% while still employed. Partial withdrawals leave the 25% minimum balance (para 46).
• Using “illness” as a label to take a larger amount when the facts are a job change. Purpose must match the paragraph.
• Paying a private person to “speed up” a claim. Use the portal, EPFiGMS, then RTI.
• Putting Aadhaar, bank password or OTP in a public RTI or a WhatsApp group. Ask for the record, not for a reprint of your identity document.

File this with the Central Public Information Officer of the EPFO regional office that holds the last contributing establishment, with a copy to the CPIO, EPFO Head Office, Bhavishya Nidhi Bhawan, 14 Bhikaiji Cama Place, New Delhi 110066, if the file may have moved. Fee: ₹10 under the RTI Rules applicable to the public authority. Do not paste Aadhaar, bank account or UAN into a public web form; put identifiers only on the signed application that EPFO receives.

To
The Central Public Information Officer
Employees' Provident Fund Organisation
[Regional Office name and full postal address]

Subject: Request under section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005
for records of PF membership, contributions and claim [ID if any]

Sir/Madam,

Please provide the following information under section 6(1). If any
part is held by another public authority, transfer that part under
section 6(3). If any part is exempt, sever it under section 10 and
release the rest with the section 8 or 9 clause relied on.

1. Copy of the notification issued under section 2(89) of the Code on
   Social Security, 2020 that is currently applied by this office as
   the wage ceiling for Chapter III, with the date it was taken on
   record in this office.

2. Copy of the member master, date of joining, date of exit if any,
   and month-wise wages and contributions (employee share, employer
   share, EPS diversion) for UAN [state on the signed paper] for
   wage months [from] to [to].

3. Copy of the Electronic Challan-cum-Returns filed by establishment
   ID [state] for those months, and the credit date into the member
   account.

4. If a claim was filed: copy of the claim form as received, the
   scrutiny sheet, the deficiency memo if any, the rejection or
   settlement order, and the name and designation of the dealing
   assistant and the approving officer.

5. Copy of any EPFiGMS grievance record for registration number
   [state], including the action-taken note.

I request the decision within 30 days under section 7(1). The
application fee of ₹10 is enclosed.

Yours faithfully
[Name]
[Postal address]
[Date]

If the PIO is silent or evasive, file a first appeal under section 19(1) within 30 days. The RTI Playbook explains that appeal in full.

₹25,000 a month for mandatory coverage, up from ₹15,000. The Union Cabinet approved the hike on 16 September 2026. The Labour Minister announced the effective date as 17 September 2026. Watch the section 2(89) gazette that replaces S.O. 2702(E).

A fresh employee in a covered establishment whose wages are up to ₹25,000 a month. People already in the Fund stay in the Fund. A new joiner above ₹25,000 is an excluded employee unless voluntary contributions are made.

No. Paragraph 18 of the EPF Scheme, 2026 keeps 12% from the employee and 12% from the employer. A notified class of establishments pays 10%. What changed is the wage base and, from 17 September 2026, the ceiling used for mandatory coverage.

8.33% of the ceiling. On a full ₹25,000 wage that is ₹2,082.50 a month, diverted from the employer's 12%. On the old ₹15,000 ceiling it was about ₹1,250. Your actual pension still depends on service and pensionable salary under the EPS, 2026.

Yes. G.S.R. 525(E) dated 29 June 2026, published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary. It supersedes the EPF Scheme, 1952, except as to things already done. PIB also records that VISHWAS, 2026 was notified in that same G.S.R.

Not as a general rule. Paragraph 46 partial withdrawals leave a 25% minimum balance. You can take up to 100% of the Eligible Member Balance (the other 75%) for illness, education, marriage, housing or special circumstances, after the membership and frequency limits.

Paragraph 49(2): a continuous 12 months of not being employed in a Code-covered establishment, unless a paragraph 49(1) event applies (retirement at 55, total incapacity, emigration, retrenchment, VRS). A female member who resigns to get married is not held to that 12-month wait.

No. Paragraph 19(2) says the employer may match and is under no obligation to match. You or the employer may reduce or stop the extra amount at any time.

Section 2(88) of the Code on Social Security, 2020. If excluded payments (HRA, overtime, bonus and the other listed items) exceed one-half of all remuneration, the excess is added back into wages. That stops a CTC split that leaves basic pay artificially low.

File EPFiGMS for action on the claim. File RTI for the record: scrutiny sheet, deficiency, ECR, and the officer who sat on the file. Use both if the grievance is ignored. Do not put Aadhaar or OTPs in the RTI text.

• Open passbook.epfindia.gov.in and download this month's passbook.
• Compare the PF wage with your salary slip. Note the gap in rupees.
• If you earn between ₹15,001 and ₹25,000 and have no UAN credit, email HR asking for the establishment ID and the first ECR.
• If a claim is already pending, copy the claim ID into a new EPFiGMS grievance.
• If you need a written record, paste the sample RTI into the AI RTI Drafter and file it.

• PIB, Cabinet: enhancement of EPFO wage ceiling, 16 September 2026, Release ID 2310811
• PIB, Labour Ministry: ceiling effective 17 September 2026, Release ID 2310973
• Prime Minister's Office, Cabinet decision note
• Gazette of India, G.S.R. 525(E), Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 2026, 29 June 2026
• Code on Social Security, 2020, including s. 2(88) wages, s. 2(89) wage ceiling, Chapter III
• PIB, VISHWAS, 2026, 17 July 2026, Release ID 2285666
• RPFC (II) West Bengal v. Vivekananda Vidyamandir, Supreme Court, 28 February 2019
• EPFO official portal
• EPFO passbook
• EPFiGMS

• EPF withdrawal rules 2026: what is official
• EPFO grievance (EPFiGMS) when a claim is stuck
• Check EPF balance and claim status
• Activate your UAN
• TDS on PF withdrawal, section 192A
• EPF interest 2025-26
• EPS higher pension
• The RTI Playbook
• RTI Act, 2005
• Citizen Crisis Response Network

Last reviewed: 17 September 2026.