EPFO wage ceiling raised to Rs 25,000 from September 17

The Union Cabinet has approved raising the wage ceiling for mandatory EPFO coverage from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 per month, effective September 17, 2026. The government estimates that around 51 lakh additional employees will be brought under the EPFO's social-security framework, which already has about 7.98 crore contributing members. Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya cited a government survey showing the average salary in private establishments is Rs 23,000 as the basis for the increase.

The Hindu notes the 12-year delay since the previous ceiling was set in September 2014 and criticises the government for not making the survey findings public. It also highlights that the minimum EPS pension of Rs 1,000 has not been revised since 2014, despite a parliamentary committee recommending an urgent review in March 2026. Business Today reports that for a newly covered employee, the maximum employee deduction on the ceiling can rise by Rs 1,200 a month, reducing take-home pay by that amount.

Economic Times calculates that an employee contributing at the new ceiling for 30 years could build an EPF corpus of about Rs 92.45 lakh, nearly Rs 37 lakh more than under the old ceiling. Livemint illustrates that with 33 years of service, the EPS monthly pension could rise to Rs 12,500 under the new ceiling, but stresses this is illustrative and depends on service record and contribution period.