EPFO 25-year vision focuses on portfolio expansion

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will discuss its 25-year vision next week, giving shape to its plans to offer more social security products, expansion of coverage and more age-differentiated saving plans among others.

The retirement fund body will hold its 232nd central board of trustees (CBT) meeting on October 31-November 1 in New Delhi to mark its foundation day, which falls on November 1.

At the meeting, the EPFO will also seek board approval for its audited financial results of 2020-21.


"The retirement fund body is bound to submit its audited results to Parliament and hence the proposal (financial statements) will be laid before the CBT for approval," one of the board members of EPFO told ET.

The CBT is the apex decision-making body of the EPFO. It is headed by the labour minister and consists of more than two dozen members including representatives of employees, employers, as well as the central and state governments.

As per its vision for the next 25 years, the EPFO plans to be a leaner organisation with global experts at the helm of its different divisions, and set up consultancy offices and service centres in Latin America and Africa.

Further, the organisation is working on expanding its product portfolio to include healthcare, maternity and disability benefits, over and above provident fund, pension and insurance benefit that it currently provides. Expansion its coverage to the entire working population of India is also being discussed.

The EPFO is of the view that its long-term expertise in catering to basic social security entitlement makes it apt to become the manager of a basic Social Protection Floor.

Going forward, it also plans to differentiate investment of provident fund and pension deposits by age and risk profile.