Provident fund is another name for
pension fund
A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.
Pension funds typically have large amounts of money to invest and are the major investors in listed and priva ...
. Its purpose is to provide employees with
lump sum payments at the time of exit from their place of employment. This differs from pension funds, which have elements of both lump sum as well as monthly pension payments. As far as differences between
gratuity
A gratuity (often called a tip) is a sum of money customarily given by a customer to certain service sector workers such as hospitality for the service they have performed, in addition to the basic price of the service.
Tips and their amount ...
and provident funds are concerned, although both types involve lump sum payments at the end of employment, the former operates as a
defined benefit plan, while the latter is a defined contribution plan.
Specific provident funds include:
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Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, India's statutory retirement plan
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Mandatory Provident Fund, Hong Kong's retirement plan
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Central Provident Fund, Singapore's retirement plan
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Employees Provident Fund (Malaysia)
Employees' Provident Fund (EPF; Malay: Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja, KWSP) is a federal statutory body under the purview of the Ministry of Finance. It manages the compulsory savings plan and retirement planning for private sector workers in M ...
, Malaysia's retirement plan
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Employees Provident Fund (Nepal) Employees Provident Fund (Nepali:कर्मचारी सञ्चय कोष) Nepal is the pension fund/provident fund for employees of government and private sector of Nepal. The Fund is currently managing provident funds of 600,000 employee ...
, Nepal's retirement Plan
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Central Provident Fund (South Africa)
Sanlam is a South African financial services group headquartered in Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. Sanlam is the largest insurance company in Africa. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Namibian Stock Exchange and the ...
, a retirement trust
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, Mexico's public pension fund and largest mortgage lender
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National Social Security Fund (Kenya)
The National Social Security Fund is a Kenyan government agency responsible for the collection, safekeeping, responsible investment and distribution of retirement funds of employees in both the formal and informal sectors of the Kenyan Economy. ...
* , China mainland's retirement plan
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Pension funds
Broad-concept articles