KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will carry out a restructuring of the accounts of contributors to further empower and maximise their retirement savings for their old-age wellbeing.
The move follows the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the tabling of the 2024 Budget on Friday that the government will be introducing flexible EPF accounts where contributors can access them at any time.
EPF chief executive officer Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the restructuring of the accounts of contributors will help members balance short, medium, and long-term needs.
"In line with the rapid ageing phenomenon and the increasingly informal work landscape in Malaysia, EPF continues to review the EPF scheme to ensure that EPF members can meet their lifecycle needs without affecting their savings for retirement.
"At the same time, the EPF will also introduce a Flexible Account as a new account that can be accessed by members at any time, especially in times of emergency," he said in a statement today.
Other key highlights of the 2024 Budget, said Amir Hamzah, included the increase of the government's matching incentive for the i-Saraan programme from the annual maximum incentive limit from RM300 to RM500 per year.
"Additionally, the i-Saraan programme has also been enhanced where eligible Malaysians in the informal sector- including housewives and those with no fixed income under the age of 60- will have the opportunity to receive a lifetime incentive of RM5,000 per individual, with a capping of RM500 per year.
"This incentive is set to benefit more than 350,000 current and new i-Saraan participants," he said.
Through the 2024 Budget, he said, the government also plans to extend the i-Suri programme with matching contributions and the maximum incentive amount for housewives.
"Acknowledging the contribution of housewives to family development and in nation building, the government seeks to enhance its incentives for the i-Suri Programme, in which a matching incentive will be provided for every ringgit contributed to the EPF Scheme by housewives under the age of 60, registered in the e-Kasih database.
"In addition, participants of the i-Suri programme will have the opportunity to receive a lifetime incentive of up to RM3,000 per individual, subject to a capping of a RM300 matching incentive per year," he said.
EPF, he said, is confident and believes that all the initiatives proposed under the 2024 Budget will help Malaysians increase their retirement savings and foster harmony and wellbeing in the family unit.
"EPF supports and will work with the government in realising the aspirations of Malaysia Madani to ensure the retirement life of Malaysians is secured," he said, adding that the initiatives announced during Budget 2024 are subject to parliament's approval.
He, nevertheless, believes that the 2024 Budget reflects an important step forward in prioritising the financial security and prosperity of the country's ageing population.
"The old-age wellbeing of the people remains one of the government's priorities, due to the modest protection under the formal pension and retirement schemes among Malaysians.
"Currently, only 60 per cent of the labour force is covered under formal retirement schemes, namely the EPF Scheme for private workers and the Civil Service Pension Scheme for civil servants," he said.