AS BIG SPENDING NAJIB & ROSMAH EMPTY THE NATION’S COFFERS, MOST MALAYSIANS CANNOT SURVIVE ON EPF SAVINGS

POLICY makers should contemplate creating a universal social pension due to rising concerns Malaysians may not be saving enough for their retirement.

This is especially true in the case of low-income workers, who, despite saving a portion of their income in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), do not have enough to pull through their retirement years, said University of Malaya’s Director of Social Security Research Centre (SSRC), Professor Norma Mansor.

She said the ‘Savings Adequacy Among EPF Members’ survey conducted by SSRC, showed 40% preferred lump-sum withdrawals.

The survey involved 2,635 contributors from 19 EPF branches nationwide.

It showed most EPF withdrawals (before age 55) were used to buy houses, renovations and children’s education.

Following the withdrawals, the majority of the respondents aged 55 and above would have an EPF account balance of less than RM50,000, a handful would have more than RM400,000 and a few would have nothing left.

“This is a cause for concern, since Malaysia does not have a universal pension that would provide older people with sufficient funds for their retirement,” she said.

The survey also revealed 79% of the respondents with relatively small EPF account balance or had emptied their EPF account had placed their money in alternative saving schemes or chose to invest the funds for better returns.

Further analysis showed close to half of the respondents age 60 and above continued to work despite having some forms of savings or investments, indicating they would work for as long as their health permitted.

– Bernama