Interest on EPF taxable, partial withdrawal not allowed after retirement

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has announced that the interest rate on EPF deposits for 2020-21 will remain 8.5 per cent, the same as in 2019-20. Among government-backed fixed-income instruments, EPF pays the highest interest (see table).

Apart from offering high returns, EPF also provides considerable liquidity. Subscribers can withdraw the entire EPF corpus when they retire or when they have been unemployed for over two months. Partial withdrawals can also be made under certain circumstances.

Conditions for partial withdrawal

EPF allows partial withdrawal to meet situations like house construction, medical emergency, and so on. According to Prashant Singh, business head —