Govt finalising details on mandatory periodic EPF withdrawals at 55

 

Putrajaya is finalising the details of a proposal on making periodic Employee Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawals mandatory for retirees upon reaching the voluntary retirement age of 55, said the prime minister.

Anwar Ibrahim asserted that the government does not have objections towards the proposal and will leave it to the capacity of the EPF.

“If we listen to EPF chief executive officer Amir Hamzah Azizan’s statement earlier, there are some constraints, especially among those who have insufficient savings," he told reporters after attending the 2023 International Social Wellbeing Conference at Mandarin Oriental Hotel today.

Anwar’s response came after EPF did not rule out the possibility of considering making conditional or periodic withdrawals for retirees aged 55 and above mandatory for new contributors in the future.

Yesterday, it was reported that Amir said the periodic withdrawal was seen to be able to give its contributors the opportunity to manage their retirement funds better.

He explained that the periodic or monthly withdrawals would also allow EPF members to enjoy annual dividends with their remaining savings.

At the moment, he said, the option of periodic or monthly withdrawal is voluntary.

Pensions Act amendment

In other developments, when asked about the financial implications for the government over the Federal Court’s ruling to nullify amendments to the Pensions Act (Amendment) 2013, Anwar said the government will “deal” with it.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

“We have to respect the decision of the court but we have a mechanism to protect pensioners.

“We will announce the details (on the mechanism) soon.”

Last week, the apex court dismissed the government and Public Service Department director-general’s appeal against a Court of Appeal decision to declare an amended pension law null and void.

This means the 2013 amendment to the law has been invalidated and the older version of the law, which contains the old pension adjustment scheme, will be restored.

A retiree’s pension, according to the old scheme, is revised based on the prevailing salary of incumbent civil servants in that grade. - Mkini