Long queues were seen at the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut on Aug 8, 2016 as contributors rush to switch from conventional savings to the new Simpanan Shariah.
KUALA LUMPUR: About a quarter of Simpanan Shariah 2017’s initial allocation of RM100bil was snapped up in the first week of registration, said the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
The retirement savings fund said in a statement that as at Sunday (Aug 14), RM25.1bil or 25.09% from the initial allocation had been utilised since registration was opened on Aug 8.
EPF chief executive officer Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said: “The take-up rate has been extremely encouraging this first week of registration and we believe that members will continue to come to our counters to register for Simpanan Shariah 2017.”
To date, a total of 208,795 registrations (or an average of more than 40,000 registrations per day) have been recorded for Simpanan Shariah, an account introduced based on the demand from EPF members to have their account managed and invested according to syariah principles.
The closing registration date for Simpanan Shariah 2017 is Dec 23, subject to the RM100bil fund allocation.
On concerns of not being able to register before the closing date, Shahril assured members that this was not a one-time event and that members could register for Simpanan Shariah in the following year.
“We expect to increase Simpanan Shariah by RM20bil to RM30bil every year, subject to members’ demand and availability of assets. Members will have the opportunity to switch in a future year even if the initial RM100bil allocation is finished for 2017,” he added.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
