The India-UK Double Contributions Convention (DCC) comes into effect alongside the free trade agreement from July 15, 2026. According to reports from PTI, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced that the DCC will benefit thousands of Indians working in the UK. The benefit applies specifically to "detached workers" - employees already working for an India-based employer who are temporarily sent to the UK for up to 60 months. This arrangement does not apply to Indians who move to the UK and take up local employment.
As reported by PTI, eligible Indian professionals temporarily deputed to the UK for up to five years will not have to contribute to the British social security system. According to tax expert Balwant Jain, eligible employees and their employers will continue contributing to EPF. "Since the detached employee and his employer will continue to contribute to his Indian EPF, he will have a larger EPF corpus and higher EPS eligibility," Jain stated. The UK government confirms that eligible detached workers will continue paying social security contributions into India's Employees' Provident Fund scheme instead of UK National Insurance Contributions.
According to Minister Goyal's announcement, the DCC will significantly improve retirement savings for eligible Indian workers. "Earlier, nearly 25 per cent of their salaries used to go towards the UK government's social security contributions. Now, that amount will be deposited in their provident fund accounts in India, earning 8.25 per cent annual interest. It will remain tax-free and help secure their retirement savings," Goyal explained. This represents a substantial shift in how social security contributions are handled for Indian workers in the UK.
The arrangement operates on a reciprocal basis, allowing UK employees temporarily deputed to India to continue paying social security contributions in the UK. As reported by PTI, the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is the culmination of more than three years of negotiations. In May 2025, the two countries secured the Double Contributions Convention agreement, and the broader FTA is now set to come into force on July 15, 2026. India has already signed similar social security agreements with several countries, including France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and South Korea.
