A TOTAL 5.5 million contributors have withdrawn a total of RM19.87 billion from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Flexible Account, as of May 31.
The Ministry of Finance said the balance of savings in the account up to the same period was RM14.36 billion.
Based on the research report "Enduring Today, Shaping Tomorrow: Flexible Accounts as a Financial Lifeline for Wellbeing" published last April, statistics for the study period from May 2024 to October 2025 found that approximately 37 per cent (five million members) made at least one withdrawal from the Flexible Account, while 63 per cent (8.4 million members) did not make any withdrawals.
"Among members who did not make withdrawals, 44 per cent had sufficient savings but chose to maintain their savings, while 56 per cent did not make withdrawals because the savings balance in the Flexible Account was zero or too low, below the minimum amount of RM50 for withdrawals.
"The same report also showed that members who made Flexible Account withdrawals used this facility, especially to support living needs and manage daily expenses.
"Among the main purposes of withdrawals are to meet daily needs, followed by healthcare expenses and debt repayment," MOF said in a written reply from William Leong Jee Keen (PH-Selayang).
Leong’s question was on the government's steps in ensuring the resilience of the EPF retirement fund to guarantee the sustainability of members' retirement plans in the future, taking into account changes and trends in EPF individual fund withdrawals through account 3 so far.
MOF said EPF analysis found that the withdrawal pattern of the Flexible Account introduced since May 11, 2024, has become more stable after the initial phase of its implementation, with the total monthly withdrawals gradually decreasing to an average of approximately RM440 million per month for the period January to December 2025.
At the same time, to ensure the resilience of the EPF retirement fund and the sustainability of long-term retirement plans, the government, together with the EPF, continues to take several key steps, including maintaining the core savings structure and implementing continuous monitoring of the Flexible Account withdrawal trend. – July 10, 2026
