Employees Provident Fund (EPF) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the Budget announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Friday (Oct 13) addressed some concerns EPF raised on the long-term financial wellbeing of Malaysians.
The recent Budget 2024 reflects an important step forward in prioritising the financial security and prosperity of Malaysia’s ageing population, according to Amir Hamzah.
“With a concerted effort to strengthen our resources and retirement allocations, this budget highlights the Unity Government’s commitment to ensuring the dignity and comfort of its citizens,” he said.
“The old-age wellbeing of the people remains one of the government’s priorities due to the low level of protection under the formal pension and retirement schemes among Malaysians.”
“Currently, only 60% 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 in the statement.
Amir Hamzah added that the low level of savings among EPF members needed to be addressed by bridging the savings and coverage gap that exists in the pension and retirement system in the country.
The key highlights of Budget 2024 include the increase in the government’s matching incentive for the i-Saraan programme, the expansion of the i-Sayang programme to husbands, the extension of the i-Suri programme and the restructuring of the EPF account.
To help members balance short, medium, and long-term needs, EPF members’ accounts will be restructured to further strengthen their retirement savings for their old-age wellbeing.
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.
Amir Hamzah said the EPF is confident and believes that these initiatives can help Malaysians increase their retirement savings and foster harmony and well-being in the family unit.
As a retirement fund, the EPF supports and will work with the government in realising the aspirations of Malaysia Madani to ensure the retirement lives of Malaysians are secured, he added.
