New Delhi, Oct. 16 -- Voluntary Provident Fund (VPF) allows salaried employees to contribute more than the mandatory amount deducted from their salary towards the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF). With EPF offering an interest rate of 8.25%, VPF can be an option for employees looking to build their retirement corpus through a government-backed savings scheme. However, the tax treatment of interest, withdrawal restrictions and the employee contribution limit are important factors to consider before investing more.

The key question is whether additional VPF contributions offer a meaningful advantage over alternatives such as fixed deposits (FDs), particularly for employees whose mandatory EPF contributions already approach or exceed the ann...