EPF is India's statutory retirement corpus: the employee contributes 12% of basic (+DA), and the employer contributes 12% too - of which a portion goes to the EPS (pension) and the rest to EPF. It earns an annually declared, tax-advantaged interest rate. Managed by the EPFO, it's mandatory for establishments with 20+ employees.
In India
The employer's 8.33% pension share is capped at the ₹15,000 wage ceiling. Employees can boost savings via VPF (Voluntary PF). The UAN (Universal Account Number) makes PF portable across jobs.
In practice
Basic ₹30,000/mo: employee PF = ₹3,600; employer ₹3,600 (₹1,250 to EPS on the ₹15k ceiling, rest to EPF). Roughly ₹7,200/month, plus interest, builds a retirement corpus - part of CTC, not take-home.