Cabinet raises EPFO wage ceiling for mandatory coverage from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month

The Union Cabinet approved a proposal of the Ministry of Labour and Employment to raise the wage ceiling for mandatory coverage under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month. The ceiling was last revised in September 2014, when it was raised to ₹15,000, after staying unchanged from 2004 to 2014. At present, a new employee who joins at a wage above ₹15,000 a month is not automatically covered and may stay outside mandatory provident fund, pension and insurance protection.

The change is expected to bring more than 51 lakh additional employees in the ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 band under the statutory framework. That framework covers provident fund savings, pension under the Employees' Pension Scheme and insurance under the Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, subject to each scheme's provisions. The government said the revision reflects wage growth, rising incomes and the expansion of formal employment, noting that minimum wages in several States and occupations have moved close to the old threshold.

The Expenditure Finance Committee recommended the proposal on 16 June 2026. The annual government outgo is estimated at about ₹11,339 crore, against existing budgetary support of about ₹10,250 crore, and about ₹56,696 crore over five years. EPFO has around 7.98 crore contributing members across about 7.68 lakh establishments.