See exactly where your provident fund money goes each month — how much you contribute, how much your employer adds, and how much of their half is diverted to the pension scheme instead of your EPF balance. Then project the balance forward to retirement.
| Wages used for PF | — |
| Employee → EPF | — |
| Employer total | — |
| → EPS (pension) | — |
| → EPF (savings) | — |
| Into your EPF account | — |
| Years to retirement | — |
| Total contributed | — |
| Interest earned | — |
| EPF corpus | — |
EPS is excluded from this corpus — it pays a monthly pension after 58, not a lump sum.
Most people assume the employer's 12% lands in their PF account alongside their own. It does not. The employer's half is split before it ever reaches the EPF balance:
So on a ₹15,000 PF wage, ₹1,800 of your own money and only ₹550 of your employer's reaches the EPF balance. The other ₹1,250 funds a pension you can claim after age 58, provided you have ten years of eligible service.
Even where an employer contributes on full basic pay rather than the ₹15,000 ceiling, the EPS share stays pegged at 8.33% of ₹15,000. Every rupee above that flows into EPF instead — which is why contributing on actual wages meaningfully increases the lump sum you eventually withdraw.
Beyond the 12%, an employer also funds EDLI insurance at 0.5% of wages and EPF administrative charges at 0.5% (subject to a monthly minimum). Neither is deducted from the employee, and neither forms part of the EPF balance, so this calculator leaves both out of the corpus.
The corpus figure compounds monthly contributions at the rate you set, raising the salary once a year by the increase percentage. EPFO in practice credits interest annually on running monthly balances, so treat the result as a close estimate rather than a statement figure. Two things it cannot know: the rate the EPFO will declare in future years, and whether you will withdraw early.
12% of basic pay plus dearness allowance is deducted from the employee. The employer contributes a matching 12%, but that half is split: 8.33% of wages (capped at ₹15,000, so a maximum of ₹1,250) goes to the Employees' Pension Scheme, and the remainder goes into the EPF account.
The statutory wage ceiling for EPF is ₹15,000 a month. An employer is only obliged to contribute on wages up to that figure. Many employers voluntarily contribute on actual basic pay instead, which is allowed and produces a larger corpus — but the EPS share stays capped at 8.33% of ₹15,000 either way.
EPF registration is compulsory for establishments with 20 or more employees. Within such an establishment it is mandatory for anyone earning basic + DA of ₹15,000 or less at the time of joining. Employees above that threshold may join voluntarily with employer consent.
EPF is a savings account you withdraw as a lump sum, and it earns interest each year. EPS is a pension scheme — it funds a monthly pension after age 58, needs 10 years of eligible service, and pays no interest as such. Only the employer funds EPS; nothing is taken from the employee's 12% for it.
The EPFO declares the rate each financial year. It was 8.25% for 2023-24 and 2024-25, and has moved between roughly 8.1% and 8.65% over the last decade. Because it is reset annually, any long-range projection is an estimate rather than a guarantee.
EPF is tax-free on withdrawal after five years of continuous service. Withdrawing earlier makes it taxable, and TDS applies above ₹50,000 if PAN is not furnished. Separately, interest on an employee's own contribution beyond ₹2.5 lakh in a financial year is taxable.
Rates and ceilings reflect EPFO rules as they stand in 2026. Contribution rules vary for international workers, certain notified establishments and employees who joined above the wage ceiling — confirm your own position with your employer or a qualified advisor.
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