PPF vs NPS vs EPF — the retirement math, compared
EPF, PPF and NPS are the three pillars of salaried retirement saving in India, and they’re built differently. EPF and PPF are fixed-return and largely tax-free; NPS is market-linked, lower-cost and potentially higher-returning, but partly taxed at exit and locked until 60. Most families don’t choose one — they layer all three.
The three, side by side
| Feature | EPF | PPF | NPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ~8.25% | ~7.1% | Market-linked |
| Rate set by | EPFO (annual) | Govt (quarterly) | Your fund choice |
| Lock-in | Job change / retirement | 15 years | Till age 60 |
| Who can open | Salaried (auto) | Anyone | Anyone 18–70 |
| Tax on maturity | Tax-free (conditions) | Fully tax-free (EEE) | Partly taxed; annuity taxed |
| Annual 80C benefit | Yes | Yes | Yes + extra ₹50,000 |
| Liquidity | Partial withdrawal allowed | Partial after year 7 | Very limited till 60 |
| At exit | Lump sum | Lump sum | 60% lump, 40% buys annuity |
Rates are the latest declared figures per EPFO and the PPF small-savings notification; both are reviewed periodically, and NPS has no guaranteed rate at all.
What the differences actually mean
- EPF is the default base — it happens automatically from your salary, compounds at a rate that has stayed near 8.25% per EPFO’s declarations, and needs no decision from you. Its weakness is liquidity: it’s tied to employment.
- PPF is the safe, tax-free anchor. Fully EEE (contribution, interest and maturity all untaxed), sovereign-backed, but a hard 15-year lock and a lower rate. It’s certainty, not growth.
- NPS is the growth and cost play — very low fund-management charges, real equity exposure, and an extra ₹50,000 deduction under 80CCD(1B). The catches: it locks until 60, and at exit you must use 40% to buy an annuity, whose income is taxed.
Who each suits
| If you are… | Lean toward |
|---|---|
| Salaried, want zero effort | EPF (already running) + top up PPF |
| Self-employed, want tax-free safety | PPF as the core |
| Young, want equity + extra deduction | NPS for the ₹50,000 + growth |
| Near retirement, want certainty | PPF and EPF over market-linked NPS |
Seeing them as one corpus
The mistake is watching three passbooks separately — an EPFO login, a PPF passbook at the bank, an NPS statement from the CRA — and never seeing the combined retirement number or its blended return. Hundo keeps EPF, PPF and NPS as one retirement passbook, month by month, with the employee/employer/pension split intact, so the three pillars read as a single corpus growing toward a date you can actually plan around.
See your family’s whole picture in one ledger.
Hundo reconciles every account, watches every renewal, and keeps every document safe. Free during early access.