Guide to calculate Provident Fund (PF) balance

The employer's contribution of 12% towards the PF balance depends on the employee's basic pay. For employees with basic pay less than Rs. 6,500, the calculation is made basis the gross salary. However, if the basic pay exceeds Rs. 6,500, the same calculation is made based on the basic pay.

If you are looking to calculate the sum you have accumulated in PF, consider using an Employee Provident Fund calculator, which will need the following information:

• Your present age and tentative age of retirement
• Basic monthly salary, along with expected annual increment
• Your contribution towards the PF and expected employer contribution
• The interest rate earned on EPF balance

On entering these details, find out how much you will save by the time you retire. While these may not be accurate figures, you may be able to estimate your retirement corpus based on this information.

Calculation of EPF

To determine how much money should be put into each employee's EPF account, the government has established various rules. In essence, each employee's Provident Fund in a corporation consists of two contributions. Both the employers and the employee's individual contributions.

Let us try to understand the basics of EPF calculation and the contributions made by the employee and the employer.

• Employees contribute 12 percent of their basic pay plus DA to the EPF.
• Employer's EPF contribution is equal to 12% of basic pay plus DA.

The employer's contribution of 12 percent is split into two parts: 8.33 percent goes to the employee pension plan (EPS) and 3.67 percent goes to the Provident Fund.

The below table will help you understand it better:

Employee basic salary and dearness allowance is Rs. 14,000.