New Delhi, January 2:Ā In what could be a major bonanza for the salaried class, the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) may increase the interest rateĀ offered on their provident fund savingsĀ this year. The announcement on EPF rate hike is expected by January-end, said a senior EPFO official.

The current interest rate on PF is 8.55 per cent -- lowest in the last five years. EPFO Central Board of Trustees member Prabhakar Banasure, while speaking to reporters, said the government is unlikely to further reduce the interest rates on EPF.Ā How to Withdraw PF Amount Online via epfindia.gov.in and Offline: Know Important Rules, Forms & Procedure.

A further reduction in interest on savings could also draw the wrath of the employed class ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections, expected in April-May 2019.

On the other hand, three government officials told a leading financial daily that the chances of EPFO raising the interest rate are high. "2018 has been a relatively low-yielding year for debt investments, but the EPFO is unlikely to revise the interest rate downward for 2018-19 from what it paid last fiscal," the official was quoted as saying by Mint.

The EPF rate is usually announced in December. The delay, said another official, is due to an intensive audit which is currently underway. The Organisation is exploring the possibility of increasing the interest rate on savings, he said.

The EPFO currently has overĀ 60 million subscribers, and manages a corpus of over Rs 11Ā trillion.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 02, 2019 09:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).