How Can I Reduce My PF Deduction and Boost My Take-Home Pay After Recent Changes?

Dear Members, below is the mail I received from my HR department. I just want to know how I can reduce my PF deduction and increase my in-hand salary.

Notification on Provident Fund Changes

"As per the fresh notification received from the EPF authorities, effective 1st September 2014, the wage ceiling for the provident fund has been raised from Rs. 6500/- to Rs. 15000/-. With the advent of this new rule, the Special Allowance component of the salary has also come under the purview of EPF deduction, but it is only restricted to employees whose basic salary is less than Rs. 15000/- per month.

The compliance with this is a mandatory requirement. However, to ease the employees' burden, instead of deducting EPF on the Special Allowance, which was directly impacting the in-hand salary, the organization has made the following changes in the salary rules:

• The employees whose TCTC is less than 4 Lac per annum will have their Special Allowance component merged into the HRA, Conveyance Allowance, and Basic. The HRA in such cases shall be allowed up to 70% of the basic, and the conveyance allowance up to 25% of their current monthly basic.

• In the case of TCTC equal to 4 Lac or above, the minimum basic shall be restricted to 15 K, and employees will be allowed to opt for the Special Allowance component as per previous salary rules."

Regards,

I don't know why you are thinking about reducing PF. The employer will contribute an equal amount in compliance with the employee's contribution. This means your deposit is instantly doubled. Some shady companies are running advertisements claiming "Your money will be doubled in three years," and many people are falling victim to such schemes. In comparison to this situation, EPF deposits are a benefit to employees. Employers usually pose such questions to lessen their own burden. I am unsure why you are taking on the role of an employer.

Regards,
Abbas.P.S

I don't know why you are thinking about reducing PF. The employer will contribute an equal amount in compliance with the employee's contribution, meaning your deposit is instantly doubled. Some companies are running advertisements claiming "Your money will be doubled in three years," and many people are falling victim to such schemes. In comparison to this situation, EPF deposits are a benefit to employees. Employers often pose such questions to lessen their burden. I am unsure why you are taking on the role of an employer.

Abbas.P.S

I appreciate your suggestion, but currently, I require a salary in hand. Please clarify first whether the statement regarding the inclusion of the Special Allowance component of salary in EPF deductions for employees with a basic salary below 15,000/- per month is correct. Kindly suggest a suitable salary structure for me.

Thank you.