Twelve and twelve, then the cap
Employee 12% of PF wages into EPF. Employer another 12%, but that 12% is not one bucket. 8.33% of wages, capped at the EPS wage ceiling of ₹15,000, goes to the Employees’ Pension Scheme (₹1,250 a month at the ceiling). The rest of the employer 12% goes to EPF. On a ₹15,000 wage that remainder is 3.67%. On a higher wage with actual-wage contributions, EPS stays capped and EPF gets the leftover. That is the sketch I show.
The ceiling has sat at ₹15,000 a month since 1 September 2014. The 2026 scheme restated it (S.O. 2701(E), 29 May 2026). I checked that this still had not become ₹21,000 on 26 August 2026. If a later gazette raises it, this page should move with the gazette, not with a LinkedIn rumour.
Worked example: ceiling only
Basic ₹40,000, DA ₹0, actual-wage box off. PF wages used ₹15,000. Employee ₹1,800. Employer ₹1,800 of which EPS ₹1,250 and EPF ₹550. Annual outflow ₹43,200 from both sides combined.
Worked example: actual wages
Same basic, box on. Employee ₹4,800. Employer ₹4,800 of which EPS still ₹1,250 and employer EPF ₹3,550. Annual outflow ₹1,15,200. The EPS cap is why “employer PF” on a high basic is mostly EPF, not pension.
Corpus sketch
Optional years. I compound the EPF legs — not EPS — monthly at 8.25%, the FY 2025–26 declared rate. That is a napkin, not the interest-posting method on a real passbook, and not a promise next year. Members who joined after 1 September 2014 above the wage ceiling can sit outside EPS entirely; I do not auto-detect that. Untick nothing, type the wage, read the split, then argue with payroll if the payslip disagrees.
Questions
What is the EPS wage ceiling?
₹15,000 a month. 8.33% of that is ₹1,250 — the usual EPS cap. Named since 1 September 2014 and restated with the 2026 scheme (S.O. 2701(E), 29 May 2026). Proposals to raise it are not this page until a notification actually does.
12% of what?
PF wages: basic + DA you type. Tick “contribute on actual wages” if the employer PF is on the full basic; untick to model the statutory ceiling only.
Where does the employer 12% go?
EPS = min(8.33% of wage, 8.33% of ₹15,000). The rest of the employer 12% goes to EPF. Employee 12% all goes to EPF.
What is the corpus sketch?
A future-value napkin of the EPF legs (employee + employer EPF, not EPS) at 8.25% — the FY 2025–26 rate ratified in 2026. EPS is a pension, not a lump I will pretend is yours to withdraw.
EDLI and admin charges?
Not in the strip. They are extra employer costs on a ceiling. I kept the 12+12 split readable.
Is this EPFO login?
No. No UAN, no OTP, no passbook fetch.