Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is a retirement savings scheme available to all salaried employees in India and other developing countries. It is a compulsory, government-managed scheme where both the employee and employer contribute to the fund on a monthly basis in equal proportions of 12% of the basic salary and dearness allowance. The EPF is administered by the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), a statutory body developed by the government of India under the Ministry of Labor and Employment. The EPF scheme is intended for salaried employees and offers two types of retirement saving schemes: the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) and the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS) .

The key features of the Employee Provident Fund are as follows:

• The entire 12% contribution to the provident fund account is made by the employee, while 3.67% is contributed by the employer. The employer’s remaining contribution of 8.33% is diverted to the Employee’s Pension Scheme.
• If the employees salary exceeds Rs. 6500, the employer’s contribution towards EPS is restricted to 8.33% of Rs 6500 (Rs. 541) per month.
• The EPF interest rate is currently 8.8% per annum (w.e.f. Feb 2016) and is decided by the Government with the consultation of the Central Board of Directors of the EPFO.

The EPF scheme is managed by the government, with set minimum and maximum contribution levels. The money in the fund is held and managed by the government and eventually withdrawn by retirees or, in certain countries, their surviving families. In some cases, the fund also pays out to the disabled who cannot work.

Overall, the EPF is a retirement savings scheme that aims to provide financial support to employees when they reach retirement. It is a tax-saving instrument that offers relatively higher interest rates on investments.