EPF Calculator

EPF calculator evaluates how much you would accumulate during employment while contributing to the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF). The EPF is a scheme for salaried employees in the organized private sector to save towards retirement.

Synonymous with the 401k, both employees and employers contribute 12% of the employee's salary to the fund. The fund also acts as a guarantee for employees in case of loss of employment. You can use the Employee Provident Fund calculator to estimate the interest earned from contributions to your EPF account at maturity and track the growth of your investment if you choose to contribute more than the essential 12%.

This article will teach you how to calculate the EPF pension amount and use the EPF contribution calculator to prepare for a financially secured retirement. If you work in an unorganized sector, check out the Atal Pension Yojana calculator. You can also use the NPS calculator to estimate your earnings in the National Pension Scheme annuity-styled investment plan and compare how your returns in these investment vehicles will look over time.

The EPF is particularly beneficial because it is a risk-free investment vehicle backed by the government. You can explore other slightly more risky investment options for your savings, such as accounts described in the fixed deposit calculator and the recurring deposit calculator.

The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) was established as a retirement benefits scheme to support salaried employees in the private sector when they retire or lose their jobs. Employers with 20 or more (5 seasonal) employees must register under the EPF Act. The Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) manages the EPF scheme and consults with the Indian Government to set an annual interest rate for the contributions.

The EPF interest calculator allows you to use different interest rate scenarios to evaluate how to calculate EPF amount at maturity.

There are three schemes under the EPFO:

1. Employee Provident Fund scheme – the main scheme under the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952;
2. Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS); and
3. Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI).

An employee under the EPF scheme must make a fixed contribution of 12% of their basic salary and dearness allowance (DA) to the scheme. Their employer matches this EPF percentage. Employees can also invest more than the essential 12% of their pay under the Volunteer Provident Fund provisions. Hence, you may use this tool as a Provident Fund or PF calculator to estimate how much you can accumulate when contributing up to 100% of your salary under the scheme.

The EPFO set the current interest rate for the EPF at 8.5% for the Fiscal Year 2021, compounding monthly. EPF contributions are tax-deductible under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. Therefore, employers get incentivized to match their employees' 12% contributions. Employees also benefit from making tax-free withdrawals on their contributions after five years in the scheme or retirement.

As an employee earning a basic salary less than Rs 15,000 monthly, you cannot opt-out of the scheme. But if you earn above the base amount, you are not mandated to partake in the EPF scheme.

When you contribute 12% of your salary, the money is invested directly in the EPF. But your employer's matching contributions are allocated across the EPF, EPS, and EDLI such that:

• 3.67% goes into the EPF; and the remaining
• 8.33% goes into the EPS.

Employers also bear an additional cost to contribute 0.50% of salaries towards EDLI and the associated administrative charges for all the contributions.

Calculating the EPF contribution if you earn Rs 15,000 or less per month is straightforward. But if you make more than that and want to join the scheme, you'll have a slightly different EPF calculation formula.

EPF calculation when you earn Rs 15,000 or less

Assuming you make a basic pay of Rs 15,000 with no dearness allowance, your contribution to the EPF scheme is 12% of your salary package.

• Employee contribution percent, 12% of the salary:

  12% × Rs 15,000 = Rs 1,800

• Employer contribution percent to Employee Pension Scheme (EPS), 8.33% of the salary:

  8.33% × Rs 15,000 = Rs 1,249.5

• Employer contribution to the EPF, the remaining 3.67% of the salary:

  Rs 1,800 – Rs 1,249.5
= Rs 550.5

Therefore,

• Total EPF contribution in the first month equals:

  Employee contribution + Employer contribution

  = Rs 1,800 + Rs 550.5
= Rs 2350.5

How to calculate EPF interest?

At the current annual EPF interest rate of 8.5%, we can find the monthly compounding interest rate:

• 8.5% / 12 = 0.7083% per month

The EPF balance will be Rs 2350.5 in the first month. But in the following months, when the interest rate begins to compound, we can calculate the total amount accrued along with interest as follows:

• EPF contribution in Month 1 = Rs 2,350.5

• EPF contribution in Month 2 = Rs 2,350.5

• Total contribution after Month 1 and 2 = Rs 2,350.5 + Rs 2,350.5 = Rs 4,701

• Interest from contributions = 0.7083% × Rs 4,701 = Rs 33.3

• Total balance after Month 2 = Rs 4,701 + Rs 33.3 = Rs 4,734.3

The EPF interest calculator used this same formula to evaluate the total EPF maturity amount until retirement.

EPF calculation when you earn above Rs 15,000

Let's say you earn a salary of Rs. 30,000, including dearness allowance. Your contribution towards EPF is still 12%.

• Employee contribution, 12% of the salary:

  12% × Rs 30,000 = Rs 3,600

• Employer contribution towards EPS, 8.33% of the salary:

  8.33% × Rs 30,000 = Rs 2,499

However, as per the EPFO guidelines, an employer can only contribute a maximum of 8.33% of the threshold amount of Rs. 15,000 towards EPS:

• 8.33% × Rs 15,000 = Rs 1,249.5 is the maximum contribution allowed.

The difference between what the employer can transfer and the maximum allowed will contribute towards the EPF. That is:

(12% × Rs 30,000 = Rs 3,600) - (8.33% × Rs 15,000 = Rs 1,249.5)

• Employer EPF contribution =
  Rs 3,600 - Rs 1,249.5
= Rs 2,350.5.

Therefore, the total contribution towards EPF from you and your employer in a month equals:
Rs 3,600 + Rs 2,350.5 = Rs 5,950.5

Use different interest rate scenarios to evaluate how the EPF amount is calculated with the EPF amount calculator.

Using our example above, here is a quick formula for calculating your EPF maturity amount:

EPF maturity amount = (12% × Basic pay) × (1 + r / n)^nt,

where:

• r – EPF interest rate;
• n – Number of months interest rate compounds = (retirement age - present age) × 12; and
• t – Retirement age - present age.

Using the EPF calculator is very simple. All you have to do to get the total employee contribution, total employer contribution, and EPF maturity amount is to follow these steps:

1. Input the amount you receive as Basic pay.
2. Provide your Dearness allowance.
3. Provide what percentage of your Basic pay to contribute monthly in the Employee contribution percent field. The calculator will use the percentage value to evaluate Employer and Employee monthly contributions in monetary terms.
4. Next, enter your Present age, Expected retirement age, and the prevailing EPF interest rate.
5. If you expect an annual salary hike, provide the value in percentage in the Expected salary hike field.
6. Finally, fill in your Current EPF balance if you have one active.

Once you provide all the figures, the EPF calculator instantly determines your EPF maturity amount at retirement by summing up the value of all contributions in the years between your current age and your retirement age. To make things a little bit more straightforward, we've provided default numbers to help 🙂.

Generally, the EPF offers more benefits than demerits to an employee. However, it's worth noting how the scheme can impact your long-term financial goals.

Benefits of the EPF scheme:

1. Savings in the EPF are risk-free and backed by the Government. Therefore, they provide employees with a reliable investment return at retirement.
2. Contributions and accruing interests in the EPF are tax-deductible, and you can withdraw earned returns tax-free if you've made contributions worth under Rs 2.5 lakh per annum and you've been in the EPF scheme for five years.
3. The EPF has a considerably high-interest rate.
4. Unlike many retirements benefit schemes where beneficiaries get their earnings as annuities, EPF beneficiaries can make a lumpsum withdrawal from their accrued EPF earnings.
5. After the age of 60, an EPF beneficiary can access their EPS investment along with the earnings in the EPF.
6. Employees under the EPF scheme can nominate family members as beneficiaries in their demise.
7. Employees can get life insurance cover under the EPF and ensure the financial security of nominees. The EDLI offers the life insurance benefit.
8. In case of a medical or financial emergency, you can make an early withdrawal from the EPF.
9. You can invest more than the required 12% under the Volunteer Provident Fund to increase your retirement earnings in the long term.
10. Once you're not mandated to contribute to the EPF scheme, you can transfer the earnings in your account to another account or investment plan.
11. You are allowed to withdraw from your EPF two months after resigning from a job. But not when you're between jobs. The EPF calculator enables you to estimate the maturity amount after saving for several years. You can use the information to evaluate how the withdrawal can impact your overall earning.

Limitations of the EPF:

1. If you change jobs, you will have to ensure your new company contributes to your EPF (if you have an existing account) using the Universal Account Number (UAN).
2. Employees who earn less than Rs 15,000 monthly don't have a choice to decide whether to contribute to the scheme or not.
3. Other investment opportunities may offer better returns than EPF in the long term.
4. Engaging with the EPFO in a case when you have grievances can involve inconvenient bureaucratic processes.
5. EPF is not a good option for people considering it for short-term financial goals. For instance, young couples and parents looking to fund their children's education in a few years are better off investing in more liquid opportunities.
6. To transfer money from your EPF, you need authentication from your employer.