EPFO yet to finalise interest rate for 2012-13

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Interest rate on employees' provident fund for the current fiscal is yet to be fixed despite the first quarter of the year 2012-13 having ended, raising concerns among its subscribers.

There are about five crore subscribers under the retirement fund scheme run by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

EPF rates were reduced from 9.5 per cent in 2010-11 to 8.25 per cent during the last fiscal. The decision regarding the interest rate is taken by the EPFO's Central Board of Trustees headed by the Labour Minister.

"We have no information about the next meeting of the CBT and so far the issue of interest rate has not come before the trustees for approval," Hind Mazdoor Sabha secretary and an EPFO trustee A.D. Nagpal told agencies.

Another trustee said that ideally the rate should be announced before beginning of a financial year so that the subscribers have a sense of surety and the accounts are settled without any problem.

The issue did not come up for discussion during the last meeting of the trustees held on May 25.

According to sources, the EPFO has not even decided to convene the next meeting of the trustees and the issue of interest rate may linger on for some time.

The trustees' meet is also crucial because the issue of fixing minimum pension of Rs 1,000 per month for its subscribers was deferred during the last meeting held in May 2012.