New Delhi: The Ministry of Labour & Employment has made Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) contributions above the monthly wage ceiling of ₹15,000—equivalent to contributions exceeding ₹1,800 per month—voluntary under the new Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 2026, notified on Monday.
Earlier, under the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 1952, the wage ceiling—currently ₹15,000 per month—was applicable at the time of joining an establishment for mandatory social security coverage.
Employees earning a basic wage of up to ₹15,000 per month were mandatorily covered under the scheme, while those earning above the threshold could opt to join the social security schemes administered by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) voluntarily.
Once enrolled, employees contributed based on their actual basic wages, and employers matched those contributions, even if the wages exceeded the government-notified wage ceiling.
The current wage ceiling of ₹15,000 per month has been in effect since 2014.
The new Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 2026 states that "the contribution payable in respect of a member shall be subject to the wage ceiling limit, notified by the Central Government from time to time."
It further states: "Subject to the provisions contained in sub-paragraph (4) of paragraph 9, where the monthly wage of such a member exceeds the wage ceiling, the employer's and employee's contributions shall be limited to the contribution payable on the wage ceiling."
The scheme also provides that an employer may contribute to wages exceeding the ceiling to the Employees' Pension Fund in cases where higher-wage contributions are permitted under the Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995.
However, it reiterates that the employer's contribution under the scheme shall remain at 12 per cent of the employee's wages, with the employee contributing an equal amount.
Following the 2014 amendment to the Employees' Pension Scheme, employers' contributions of 8.33 per cent towards the pension scheme were capped at the wage ceiling of ₹15,000, limiting the pension contribution to ₹1,250 per month.
Any contribution on wages above the ceiling was credited to employees' EPF accounts because employers continued making contributions on actual wages.
The revised provisions in the new scheme will allow both employers and employees to choose whether to contribute only up to the wage ceiling or on the employee's actual basic wage, if it exceeds the ceiling.
The Labour Ministry has not yet commented on the changes.