The government has fixed an annual interest rate of 8.25% on the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) for the financial year 2024-25. However, this interest is calculated on the closing balance of the account every month and is credited to your account once a year. But, if your EPF account remains inactive for 36 consecutive months, i.e., during that time there is no deposit or withdrawal transaction in it, then interest on that account will stop. This rule has been clearly stated by the EPFO ​​on social media on 27 August 2025.

What is the meaning of an inactive EPF account?

According to the EPFO, an account is considered inactive when there is no financial activity in it for three years, except interest credit. The special thing is that after retirement, the EPF account remains active only for 3 years. That is, after retiring at the age of 55, your account will continue to earn interest till the age of 58, after which it will become inactive. In such a situation, if you have changed your job, then it is necessary to open a new EPF account and transfer the old account. On the other hand, if you are not currently working, then it would be better to withdraw EPF funds in time, so that your money does not become inactive.

Keep the EPF account active.
EPFO has clearly stated on its official social media channel that if your EPF account is inactive for more than 36 months, it becomes inoperative and will not earn interest on it. Therefore, working members have been advised to transfer their old EPF account to the new EPF account immediately. And those who are not working right now, start the process of withdrawing their EPF funds so that there is no loss of interest.

EPFO 3.0 is coming soon
EPFO is going to launch its digital platform EPFO ​​3.0 soon. This new service was earlier scheduled to be launched in June 2025, but it has been delayed due to technical reasons. EPFO ​​3.0 aims to speed up claim processing and provide new digital facilities to users, like direct EPF withdrawal through UPI. For this project, EPFO ​​has shortlisted three major IT companies, Infosys, TCS, and Wipro, which will help in its implementation, operation and maintenance.

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