New Delhi, May 26 -- Among the safest, long-term retirement savings plans for salaried individuals in the country, the employees provident fund (EPF) is offering 8.25% interest this quarter on joint monthly contributions made by employers and employees.

Members are eligible to open an account if their basic salary and dearness allowance is up to Rs.15,000 per month, with provision for voluntary provident fund (VPF) option if the components exceed Rs.15,000/month.

Subscribers receive the lump sum corpus at retirement, with accumulated employee contribution of up to Rs.2.5 lakh being tax-free, and the full employer contribution being tax-free. Further, during the tenure of the scheme, annual contributions of up to Rs.1.5 lakh by the emplo...