What happened
Union Cabinet approved raising EPFO monthly wage ceiling from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 on 16 Sept 2026; AITUC says it is too little, too late and demands ₹30,000.
The Union Cabinet on 16 September 2026 raised the EPFO wage ceiling from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month, a decision the All India Trade Union Congress has called too little, too late.
AITUC demanded the ceiling be lifted to ₹30,000 to cover deserving sections of employees, arguing that social security must keep pace with workers' earnings, minimum wages, inflation and cost of living.
The revision is expected to bring over 51 lakh additional employees under mandatory EPFO coverage, with employee PF contribution rising from ₹1,800 to ₹3,000 per month.
The government's annual outgo on EPFO pension contributions is estimated to jump to ₹11,339 crore from about ₹10,250 crore.
AITUC called for a regular, automatic mechanism for periodic revision of the wage ceiling so future increases do not require fresh political decisions every decade.
Timeline
- Sept 2014 — EPFO wage ceiling last hiked ₹6,500 → ₹15,000
- Feb 2024 — EPFO Central Board employee reps pressed for ₹25,000
- 16 Sept 2026 — Union Cabinet approves ₹25,000 ceiling
- 17 Sept 2026 — Effective date (Vishwakarma Day)
Why it matters for me
51 lakh+ additional employees come under mandatory EPFO coverage; employee PF contribution rises ₹1,200/month; government outgo up ₹1,089 crore/year.
Money · Work
Salaried Workers · Employees
Employee take-home pay drops by ₹1,200/month as PF contribution rises from ₹1,800 to ₹3,000; employer adds ₹600/employee.
Work · Daily Life
Salaried Workers · Employees
51 lakh+ additional employees get mandatory EPFO coverage and pension eligibility.
Money · Daily Life
Financial Literacy Readers · Trade Unionists
Annual government outgo on EPFO pension rises ₹1,089 crore to ₹11,339 crore; unions demand automatic revision mechanism.
What to remember
AITUC demands ₹30,000 ceiling with automatic revision — the ₹25,000 hike is a 12-year-overdue correction that unions still find inadequate.
EPFO wage ceiling hiked to ₹25,000 — AITUC says too little, too late, demands ₹30,000 with automatic revision mechanism.
Verified sources (7)
EPFO wage ceiling of ₹25,000 too little, too late, says AITUC
↗What does the latest revision to the EPFO wage ceiling entail? Explained
↗AITUC calls for periodic revision of wage ceiling under EPFO
↗Rs 25,000 EPFO wage ceiling too little, too late, says AITUC
↗EPFO wage ceiling raised to Rs 25,000, widens social security net
↗Higher savings for close to 8 crore workers as Cabinet approves ₹25,000 EPFO wage ceiling
↗EPFO wage ceiling raised to Rs 25,000 per month; demand not met, say trade unions
↗Claims and linked sources
8 claimsUnion Cabinet approved on 16 September 2026 raising monthly EPFO wage ceiling from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000.
Revision comes 12 years after the last EPFO wage-ceiling hike (September 2014, ₹6,500 → ₹15,000).
AITUC called the hike 'too little, too late' and demanded the ceiling be raised to ₹30,000.
51 lakh+ additional employees expected under EPFO; Mandaviya cited about 1 crore additional subscribers.
Employee PF contribution rises from ₹1,800 to ₹3,000 per month (₹1,200 take-home cut); employer contribution rises by ₹600 per employee.
Annual government outgo on EPFO pension contributions estimated at ₹11,339 crore, up from about ₹10,250 crore.
AITUC calls for a regular, automatic mechanism for periodic revision of the wage ceiling.
Employee representatives on the EPFO Central Board had pressed for ₹25,000, including a February 2024 proposal the government did not act on.
Community signals
Signal-only · not reporting“This revision is therefore too little and too late. AITUC demands that the ceiling may be raised to ₹30,000.”
“Keeping in view the inflation rate, the revised ceiling should have been more than ₹30,000.”
“The wage ceiling of Rs 25,000 is not an adequate ceiling. Any social security must keep pace with workers' earnings.”