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KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has collected RM5.24bil contribution payments through the e-Caruman facility, with RM2.14bil collected through its online platform.
The pension fund has embarked on initiatives to reduce manual transaction which saw 426,675 employers submit their Form A online through the e-Caruman facility as at March 31, 2017.
EPF chief executive officer Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said the e-Caruman portal was designed to process high volume of data and equipped with the financial process exchange system that also allowed employers to make real-time debiting of contribution payments for zero transactional cost.
“To facilitate and enable a secure and efficient real-time transaction processing of employees’ contribution details, EPF has ceased printing and sending out Form A to employers effective Jan 1, 2017,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
He added that the increase in the number of newly-registered members every quarter was the basis for employers to leverage e-Caruman for their monthly obligation.
The total number of EPF members increased 1.54% to 14.91 million in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017 from 14.69 million in Q1 2016, out of which 6.92 million, or 46.40%, were active members.
The number of newly-registered members, meanwhile, rose 3.54% to 153,844 in Q1 2017, whereas the number of newly-registered employers reduced 0.06% to 16,246 in Q1 2017 from 16,256 employers in Q1 2016.
“The reduced number of visitors to the EPF counters is testament to the success of our e-service platforms, offering convenience and ease of transaction. We will continue to actively explore new ways to enhance online experience, as well as to invest in technologies to help keep operating costs low,” said Shahril.
Meanwhile, based on Q1 2017 operation, a total of 36,707 members switched from conventional savings to Simpanan Shariah, accounting for RM2.67bil allocation.
Total contributions received as at March 31, 2017 increased 2.97% year-on-year to RM17.36bil from RM16.86bil in Q1 2016, bringing the total accumulated members’ contributions to RM708.14bil.
The quarter under review also saw the EPF reporting for the first time, the number of applications approved for the Age 60 Withdrawal.
The withdrawal scheme saw a total of 17,929 approved applications for Age 60 Lump Sum Withdrawal amounting to RM461.07mil and 28,627 approved applications for Age 60 Flexi Withdrawal (RM873.89mil).
Approved applications for Age 55 Flexible Withdrawal in Q1 2017 decreased 38.61% to 55,925 from 91,099 approved applications in the corresponding quarter in 2016.
The amount withdrawn under the scheme was RM2.21bil compared to RM3.03bil in 2016 (Q4 2016: 98,644; RM2.96bil).
Approved applications for Age 55 Lump Sum Withdrawal in the quarter under review also fell 18.86% to 49,371 (RM3.30bil) from 60,844 (RM3.35bil) in the corresponding period last year (Q4 2016: 56,218; RM2.85bil). - Bernama
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