According to a Moneycontrol analysis of EPFO statistics, the corpus of India's Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) has increased by about five times in the last ten years, representing both the steady growth of formal employment and an increase in the salary base of organized-sector workers.One of the biggest decadal surges in the fund's history occurred when the overall corpus increased from Rs 5.46 lakh crore in FY14 to Rs 24.76 lakh crore in FY24.
The primary EPF account, which combines employers' and employees' retirement funds, grew from Rs 3.25 lakh crore to Rs 15.29 lakh crore within the overall corpus between FY14 and FY24.

The Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) fund, which offers members life insurance, increased more moderately from Rs 13,711 crore to Rs 45,529 crore, while the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) component increased from Rs 2.08 lakh crore to Rs 8.76 lakh crore.

While the EPS portion decreased from 38 percent to 35.4 percent, indicating faster accumulation in the primary provident fund, the EPF's part of the overall corpus increased over time, rising from 59.5 percent in FY14 to 61.8 percent in FY24.The increase is in line with the wider formalisation of the Indian employment market, which is being fuelled by the EPFO's growing coverage and government assistance programs like the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY) and PM Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY).
Increased compliance and enrolment have resulted from the digital rollout of the Universal Account Number (UAN), which has significantly streamlined member tracking and portability.

7.82 crore new members have joined the EPF system in the past seven years.

The increasing number of partial withdrawals—nearly 3 crore claims in FY24—indicates a strong preference for liquidity among members even as the corpus grows.

Experts warn that over time, retirement security may be compromised by this increased reliance on EPF funds for immediate needs.