And the 5% emploee contribution is the minimum, you can mandate the company to save a higher percentage if you want to.. and after 10 yrs of service the company share goes up form 12% to 15% percent of basic so you are effectively saving at least 20% of your salary basic each month.. hope that helped..overall I find the provident fund a good way to save even if I have to admit the returns haven't been that great so far..