Employees' Provident Fund Organisation

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (abbreviated to EPFO), is a statutory body of the Government of India under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. It administers a compulsory contributory Provident Fund Scheme, Pension Scheme and an Insurance Scheme. The schemes cover Indian workers as well as International workers (for countries with which bilateral agreements have been signed. As of now 14 Social Security Agreements are operational). It is one of the largest social security organisations in India in terms of the number of covered beneficiaries and the volume of financial transactions undertaken. The EPFO's apex decision making body is the Central Board of Trustees (CBT).

The total assets under management are more than ₹5 lakh crore (US$91 billion) as of 1 May 2013.

On 1 October 2014, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi launched universal account number for Employees covered by EPFO to enable PF number portability.

Legal basis

The Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 came into effect on 4 March 1952. The organisation is administered by a Central Board of Trustees, composed of representatives of the Government of India, provincial governments, employers and employees. The board is chaired by the Union Labour Minister of India. The Chief Executive of the EPFO, the Central Provident Fund Commissioner, reports to the Union Labour Minister through the Permanent Secretary in the ministry. The headquarters of the organisation is in New Delhi.