KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is working to rebuild contributors' savings after RM145 billion was withdrawn through four Covid-19 related withdrawal facilities, said Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
He said the withdrawals involved 8.2 million contributors through i-Lestari, i-Sinar, i-Citra and special withdrawals.
“The focus is now on strengthening retirement savings and ensuring members enjoy sustainable retirement income,” he said.
Amir Hamzah said this during the question and answer session at the Dewan Negara today, in response to a question from Senator Mohd Hasbi Muda who wanted to know whether contributors have sufficient savings to meet their retirement age.
The minister added that the government does not intend to introduce new withdrawals facilities since the EPF account structure has been revamped with the creation of Account 1, Account 2 and Account 3, the last of which is flexible for emergency withdrawals.
He said EPF is also looking into a proposal to introduce a monthly pension payment scheme for new members, which is expected to be approved in the next few years, while existing contributors can choose to switch to the scheme.
