\n| Payment mode<\/td>\n | Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), within 45 days of eligibility<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nPart A: up to \u20b915,000 for first-time employees<\/h2>\nPart A is a one-time incentive for employees joining EPF for the first time. It equals one month’s EPF wage, capped at \u20b915,000.<\/p>\n \n- Who qualifies:<\/strong> first-time EPF members with a gross wage of up to \u20b91 lakh at joining.<\/li>\n
- How it is paid:<\/strong> \u20b97,500 after 6 months of service; the balance after 12 months and completion of the EPFO financial literacy course.<\/li>\n
- What the employee needs:<\/strong> a UAN activated through face authentication on UMANG, and an Aadhaar-seeded bank account.<\/li>\n
- Earlier EPF members:<\/strong> not covered under Part A, but the employer can still claim Part B for them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Part B: up to \u20b93,000 a month for employers<\/h2>\nPart B pays employers a monthly incentive for each additional employee they bring into EPF. Unlike Part A, it covers both first-time employees and earlier EPF members.<\/p>\n \n- Who qualifies:<\/strong> additional employees with a gross wage of up to \u20b91 lakh, retained for at least 6 months.<\/li>\n
- Minimum hiring:<\/strong> at least 2 additional employees if your EPF baseline is under 50, or at least 5 if it is 50 or more.<\/li>\n
- Duration:<\/strong> 2 years; extended to 4 years for the manufacturing sector.<\/li>\n
- How it is paid:<\/strong> every six months, to the employer’s PAN-linked bank account.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The monthly incentive depends on the additional employee’s EPF wage:<\/p>\n \n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n| EPF wage of the additional employee<\/th>\n | Incentive per employee, per month<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Up to \u20b910,000<\/td>\n | Up to \u20b91,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| \u20b910,001 to \u20b920,000<\/td>\n | \u20b92,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| \u20b920,001 to \u20b91,00,000<\/td>\n | \u20b93,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n For example, a manufacturing unit that adds 10 employees earning over \u20b920,000 each could claim \u20b930,000 a month, or about \u20b914.4 lakh over four years.<\/p>\n Why it matters now: the \u20b925,000 wage ceiling<\/h2>\nThe EPF wage ceiling rises to \u20b925,000 from 17 September 2026. For employees whose PF was earlier capped at \u20b915,000, employer PF cost goes up by about \u20b91,200 a month per employee.<\/p>\n Part B can offset much of this increase on new hires. An additional employee earning above \u20b920,000 brings a \u20b93,000 monthly incentive, comfortably more than the extra PF cost.<\/p>\n One caution: do not reduce statutory wages<\/strong> to contain PF costs. The better route is to bring every eligible employee into EPF and claim the incentive.<\/p>\n | |