The Employee Provident Fund or EPF, has recently expressed concern over the fact that 46% (5.8 million) EPF members below the age of 55, have less than RM10,000 in their accounts.
In a statement released by EPF CEO Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, the pandemic has led to a significant drop in the percentage of members meeting the basic savings threshold of RM240,000 at the age of 55.
“The pandemic also triggered a dramatic rise in the number of gig workers in the country.”
“While this have helped workers to survive, they are falling back on their retirement security due to irregular and unstable income.”
So what would this mean for Malaysians who do not have a stable income?
Here is what Amir Hamzah suggests: “The key element of the retirement fund’s strategy going forward is to get gig workers, and those in the informal sectors into the EPF scheme.
“This will help them to start saving as early as possible and plan for their retirement.”
What if we don’t start saving?
“There will be far-reaching repercussions for their future well-being.”
You can revisit and understand the risk of your future well-being by visiting www.kwsp.gov.my. It is better to know what you are up against, than leaving it up to chance.
