[UPDATED] Fresh measures to protect pensioners in the works: Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR – The prime minister said the government will come up with measures to protect pensioners, following a Federal Court decision which invalidated amendments to the pension law.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also finance minister, said the government is working on the details of the mechanism and will make an announcement soon.

“We’ll deal with it. We have to respect the decision of the Federal Court. We are having a mechanism to protect pensioners and will announce it soon,” he told reporters after launching the International Social Well-being Conference here today.

On June 27, the Federal Court ruled that legal amendments made in 2013, which introduced a new pension scheme that adjusts pension payments every year by a 2% increment, were less favourable to pensioners and unconstitutional.

The decision meant that the older version of the law containing the old pension adjustment scheme would be restored.

Meanwhile, Anwar said the government was open to a suggestion by the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) to make it mandatory in the future for new EPF members to withdraw their savings periodically instead of as a lump sum on reaching 55-years-old.

However, the prime minister said certain constraints had to be taken into consideration, including the fact that some EPF members’ savings were too small.

Yesterday, EPF chief executive Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan was reported saying that the existing option of periodic withdrawals on a monthly basis was seen as offering members a better way to manage their retirement funds.

He said making periodic withdrawals would also allow members to continue enjoying annual dividends for their remaining savings. – Bernama, July 6, 2023