The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is now focusing on efforts to rebuild contributors’ savings after RM145 billion was withdrawn through four withdrawal schemes related to the Covid-19 pandemic, said Finance Minister II, Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
According to him, the withdrawals involved 8.2 million contributors through i-Lestari, i-Sinar, i-Citra and Special Withdrawals.
He added that when answering a question from Senator Mohd Hasbi Muda regarding the adequacy of contributors’ savings to cover their retirement age, the main focus at the moment is to strengthen retirement savings to ensure members enjoy a sustainable income after retirement.
Amir Hamzah also stressed that the government does not plan to introduce new withdrawals since the EPF account structure has now been revamped with the introduction of Account 1, Account 2 and Account 3, where Account 3 is flexible for withdrawals during emergencies.
In addition, he revealed that the EPF is currently examining a proposal to introduce a monthly pension payment scheme for new members, which is expected to be approved within the next few years.
Meanwhile, existing contributors will have the opportunity to choose whether to remain with the current scheme or switch to the new scheme.
