Employee Provident Fund (EPF) Calculator Online

What is EPF?

EPF is short for Employees Provident Fund. EPF scheme is designed to provide financial support to all salaried individuals after their retirement. It is a corpus towards which both the employer and the employee contribute every month. 

EPF is the primary scheme that is part of the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. As per this Act, every organization with more than 20 employees must mandatorily register for it. The EPF scheme is backed by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). 

Under an EPF scheme, an employee contributes a certain portion of his/her salary toward the PF account. The employer has to pay an equal amount to the PF account. The net amount so contributed every month further provides a monetary benefit to the employee post his/her retirement.

EPF acts as a retirement benefit plan with the objective of ensuring financial independence in the retirement period for employed individuals.

What is an EPF calculator?

Employees PF calculator designed by Fisdom is an online tool that can be used for estimating the EPF corpus available at the time of retirement. To use this calculator, a user has to provide basic details like basic monthly salary, present age, retirement age, annual expected salary increase, PF contribution, and current PF balance. 

Once the user knows the estimated PF value at retirement, it is easier to plan retirement. It helps users to estimate whether the PF corpus can meet their different financial needs at retirement. Accordingly, it helps in gauging whether one needs to invest additional funds towards other investment alternatives to cater to various financial needs.

How does an EPF calculator work?

Let us understand the functionality of the EPF calculator with the help of an example.

Employees’ basic salary + dearness allowance = Rs. 15,000

Employees’ contribution towards the EPF = 12% * 15,000 = Rs 1,800

Employers contribution towards the EPF = 3.67% * 15,000 = Rs 550

The total contribution that is made by the employer and employee towards the EPF account of the employee = is Rs. 1,800 + Rs. 550 = Rs. 2,350.

The interest rate on PF for FY 2022-23 is set at 8.1%.

To calculate the interest rate applicable for each month, the calculation is:

8.1%/12 = 0.675%

If an employee joined a firm ABC in April 2022, the total PF contribution for April will be Rs. 2,350. There will be no interest earnings on PF for the month of April. 

The net PF contribution for May = Rs. 4,700. (Rs 2,350+ Rs 2,350). The employee earns an interest of Rs 4,700 * 0.675% = 31.725.

How to use Fisdom PF calculator?

Fisdom PF calculator is a free online tool that helps users in calculating the total PF corpus at retirement. The calculator also aids an employee to gauge the amount of contribution to be made for achieving a specific corpus post-retirement. This can help him/her in setting personal financial goals.

Here is the step-by-step process to use Finity’s PF calculator:

• Enter basic monthly salary
• Next, enter the present age 
• Enter the expected annual increase in salary
• Enter employee contribution in a percentage format
• Finally, enter the current PF balance
• Lastly, enter the expected retirement age and employer’s contribution to PF
• The calculator uses the current rate of interest being paid by EPF for this calculation. 

Once all the fields are filled with relevant data, the calculator automatically calculates the total PF investment and maturity value based on the latest applicable interest rate. It also shows the total interest earnings, the total employer’s contribution, and the total of employee contribution on the right side of the calculator. All this information provides a holistic view of investment to an employee for better financial decision-making.

Benefits of using Fisdom PF calculator

Some of the key benefits of using the Fisdom PF calculator are highlighted below.

• It gives the exact amount that an employee can accumulate in his/her EPF fund at retirement. This way, he/she gets an idea of the available retirement corpus. It allows one to manage other investments in a planned manner.
• One can use the Fisdom PF calculator to increase contributions toward retirement. If an employee feels that the accumulated corpus at retirement will not be sufficient to meet personal financial requirements, he/she can increase the percentage of contribution to achieve a larger corpus at retirement.
• Fisdom PF calculator is very easy to use and reflects the PF corpus amount at retirement instantly. 
• This tool is designed to help an individual plan his/her retirement. Those who want an early retirement can increase the percentage of contribution to PF depending on the results shown by the PF calculator. It also gives users an idea of the EPF corpus that will be available at different retirement ages or different stages of retirement.

What must you know about EPF contributions?

The EPF scheme is an effective retirement tool that is used to accumulate a corpus that can be used at the time of retirement. There are several points that need to be considered about the EPF contributions to effectively understand this investment scheme. Some of the key considerations are highlighted below. 

• EPF contributions are a mandatory deduction from the monthly salary and the employer is mandated to make a corresponding contribution to the employee EPF account.
• The EPF account is linked with a valid Aaddhar number and a bank account number which is to be verified using an OTP. 
• The employer’s contribution to the EPF scheme is split between the EPF (3.67%) and the EPS (8.33%) account. 
• The interest on the EPF account is calculated on monthly basis but is transferred at the end of the relevant financial year i.e., on 31st March. 
• When there are no contributions made to the EPF account for a continuous period of 36 months, the account is deemed to be inoperative, however, such accounts will continue to earn interest at the applicable rates until the employee reaches retirement age. In the case of inoperative accounts of retired members, no interest is paid on such accounts. Such interest is taxable in the hands of the members at applicable slab rates as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act. 
• Employees are allowed to nominate a beneficiary of their EPF account who is entitled to receive the benefit from the EPF account in case of the demise of the account holder. 
• The maximum pensionable salary for calculation of contribution to the EPS account is restricted to Rs.15000. Hence, the maximum contribution to the EPS account of an employee is restricted to Rs.1,250. 
• An employee does not get any interest on the EPS however, they are entitled to get a pension from the corpus after the age of 58 years. This retirement age can be deferred for another 2 years (60 years)m after which the member is entitled to get an additional pension at the rate of 4% per year. 

How to check PF balance?

Members can check their PF balance through online mode using any of the four available modes.

1. Through EPFO portal

• To check the PF balance through the EPFO portal, members need to have a valid and activated UAN (Universal Account Number). This is the key requirement as all the services of EPFO is now available online mode. The steps for the same are
  • Go to the EPFO portal
  • Next, click on the ‘Our Services’ tab and choose the ‘For Employees’ option from the drop-down menu.
  • Following this, click on the tab ‘Member Passbook’ available under ‘Services’.
  • This will take the member to a login page where they will have to enter the valid and activated UAN number and password.
  • The next step is to select ‘Member ID’ and click on the ‘View Passbook [Old: Full]’ option.
  • Finally, the PF balance details will be reflected on the user’s screen.
  • This passbook can be downloaded and printed using the ‘Download Passbook’ option.

1. Through missed call facility

The missed call facility can help the members know the EPF balance by simply giving a missed call to the authorised phone through the registered mobile number. To avail of this service, the UAN has to be integrated with the KYC details. Following this, users will have to give a missed call at 011-22901406 from their registered mobile numbers. Users will receive the relevant PF details through an SMS. 

1. Through SMS 

This facility is available for members once the UAN is registered with the EPFO portal. Members can get the details of their latest contributions and PF balance by sending an SMS ‘ EPFOHO UAN ENG to 7738299899 from the registered mobile number of UAN. The facility is available in 10 languages and the last three characters represent the preferred language. The available languages are English (default), Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Bengali.

1. Through UMANG / EPFO App

Another mode of knowing the PF balance is through the UMANG app. Members can download the app and login through a one-time registration to know various details like the PF balance, raising claims, and tracking the progress of the same. 

How to transfer EPF money online?

The various steps to transfer EPF money online are highlighted below, 

• Members can transfer their EPF by using their UAN in case of a change of job. They do not need to open a new PF account. 
• The first step for this is to go to the official EPF member portal and register for the same
• After registration is completed, members will get valid login credentials and they can use them to login to the portal
• The next step is to visit the ‘Online Transfer Claim Portal’ and thereafter request for EPF transfer using the login details.
• Members can make the transfer claim online without submitting Form 13 if they are eligible to do so.
• Following this members will have to click on ‘Request for Transfer of Funds’
• Here, employees will have to enter their old employment details as required
• Members will also have to get this authenticated by their previous or new employer
• Following this, members will get a PIN on their UAN registered mobile number
• A tracking ID will be generated which can be used to track the said application.

Benefits of EPF

There are several benefits of having a PF account some of which are highlighted hereunder. 

• PF account offers one of the highest interest rates in the country and can be used as an effective tool for long-term capital appreciation
• EPF can help in building a sound corpus for retirement that can be used to meet various needs of the members in the post-retirement period.
• Members can get a tax deduction for their contribution to EPF under section 80C up to Rs. 1,50,000 and withdrawal from PF is also tax-free subject to conditions. The interest earned from EPF is also tax-free up to Rs. 2,50,000 for members. 
• Members are allowed pre-mature withdrawals from the PF account under certain  circumstances like medical emergencies, higher education of children, wedding expenses, etc. 

Conclusion

With PF contributions, employees get a fixed income once they retire. Employees who are eligible for PF can nominate a family member as the nominee. This way, the family members can avail of the pension or corpus in case of the employee’s demise. Employees can also get life insurance coverage through EPF contributions.