PETALING JAYA: A whopping 94.4% of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members are steadfast in wanting the withdrawal age of 55 to be retained, according to a survey.
This is 91,047 out of the 96,448 respondents. They also agreed that new contributions from age 55 to 60 should only be withdrawn at 60.
The survey is part of the EPF members’ consultation exercise that received an encouraging response.
EPF CEO Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said the results have been presented to its board.
“The board was pleased that so many of our members have exercised their right to have a say in the consultation exercise,” he said in a statement yesterday.
A total of 74.6% – 71,950 of the respondents – also agreed to the proposal of aligning minimum contributions with the minimum wage legislation. This move will make it compulsory for both employers and employees to calculate their EPF contributions based on the minimum wage stipulated by law.
Members also agreed that the proposal was timely as it would address the low savings of employees, whose contributions were lower than it should be under the legislation.
The survey also showed that 61.3% wanted to keep their savings with the EPF after retirement and agreed to extend dividend payments from age 75 to 100 while some 71% welcomed EPF’s proposal to allow members to switch to a Syariah-compliant retirement savings.
“We are confident that the take-up rate for the Syariah-compliant retirement savings scheme will be encouraging for both Muslim and non-Muslim members,” he added.
news source: thestar.com.my
