New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- Leaving a job at 40 does not necessarily mean your EPF balance stops earning interest immediately. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation has clarified that an employee who exits employment before the age of 55 can continue to receive interest on the EPF balance until turning 58, subject to the applicable rules.

This is particularly relevant for people who take a career break, retire early, become self-employed or leave formal employment and decide not to withdraw their accumulated provident fund corpus.

The clarification comes from EPFO's frequently asked questions, which specifically address how long interest is payable after an employee leaves employment. EPFO says that when an employee retires voluntarily b...