Cuepacs wants EPF to put proposal on hold

petaling jaya: The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) wants the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to put on hold its proposal to extend the withdrawal age from 55 to 60.

Cuepacs president Datuk Azih Muda instead proposed that EPF set up a special committee, consisting of non-board members, to have a roundtable discussion with stakeholders on the options available to workers who contribute to EPF.

“They also need to stop their online survey on this issue, because this is simply not the right time since the proposal has only been presented to the EPF board and not yet discussed.

“We want all the stakeholders to be called in for an in-depth discussion on this proposal, and then disclose the results to the public before seeking their feedback,” he said.

EPF depu­ty chief executive officer (stra­tegy division) Tunku Alizakri Raja Muhammad Alias had pre­viously said EPF had engaged with all stakeholders, including unions, even before the start of a two-week survey to obtain feedback from contributors.

However, Azih was concerned that the chosen options were irrever­sible, saying that options chosen in a worker’s younger years may not be in line with their needs in the future.

“For instance, a worker in his 20s may be all right with withdrawing his contribution at 60.

“As he grows older and starts a family, he may realise that he is in need of the money around age 55, but since he chose to withdraw at 60, he would not be able to change the option,” he said.

On how to encourage more workers to contribute to EPF and increase their savings, Azih suggested the EPF provide a one-off bonus to those who have been active contributors for a long period of time.