KUALA LUMPUR – More than two-thirds, or 71%, of active Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors aged 55 and below do not have enough funds to retire above the poverty line, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
This is the result of the four special withdrawals allowed by previous governments to ease the people’s financial burdens during the Covid-19 pandemic, Anwar, who is also prime minister, said in a parliamentary written reply today.
“(They) are in a serious situation where their total funds are not enough to retire above the poverty line.
“The EPF estimates that members will need to work an additional four to six years more to rebuild their savings that were withdrawn during the pandemic,” Anwar (Tambun-PH) said.
He also raised concern over the implications, given that Malaysia is headed towards becoming an ageing country.
“It will have a huge impact on the country and the people, especially in terms of the economy, productivity, social well-being, quality of life, and health.”
Anwar’s government has been against allowing additional EPF withdrawals. In his reply today, he reiterated that they will worsen the existing problem of contributors having insufficient retirement savings, which he described as now being at “a very worrying level”.
Anwar was replying to Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari (Gombak-PH) who asked about the government’s stance on allowing more EPF withdrawals as a form of assistance.
It was reported previously that 51% or 6.7 million EPF contributors below the age of 55 have less than RM10,000 in their retirement savings following withdrawals made during the pandemic.
The “basic savings” amount to retire as set by the EPF is RM240,000 at the age of 55. – The Vibes, February 23, 2023
