EPFO backed 9.5 per cent Interest on PF

Employee Provident Fund Organization’s (EPFO)Central Board of Trustees on 15 February 2011 backed an earlier decision to pay 9.5% interest to 4.7 crore EPFO subscribers. The finance ministry had questioned EPFO’s recommendation to raise the payout from 8.5% to 9.5% and had expressed doubt as to how the provident fund body would find resources to the tune of Rs 1,700 crore to meet the additional burden. EPFO Board of Trustees turned down a suggestion for a fresh look at a proposal to invest funds in the stock market arguing that it was not feasible to invest in stocks unless the ministry was willing to guarantee a minimum return of 15% on investments. The EPFO’s central board of trustees has approved the investment of corpus amount of Rs 400 crore PF money in LIC Housing Finance (LICHF).