EPF raises Basic Savings quantum

Kwasa Land Sdn Bhd is a unit of the Employees Provident Fund

PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has increased its Basic Savings quantum to RM240,000 effective Jan 1, 2019.

This amount, which was set at RM228,000 previously, is the minimum amount of savings members should have upon reaching age 55.

In a statement, EPF said Basic Savings refer to the amount that is considered sufficient to support members’ basic needs for 20 years upon retirement, from age 55 to 75, aligned with the Malaysian life expectancy.

“The new quantum is benchmarked against the minimum pension for public sector employees, which has been raised from RM950 to RM1,000 per month,” it said.

According to the new basic savings schedule, a 20-year-old is expected to have RM6,000 in savings; 30-year-old, RM35,000; 40-year-old, RM86,000 and 50-year-old, RM175,000.

“The EPF Basic Savings quantum is revised periodically according to the minimum pension for public sector employees, or every three years, whichever earlier, with the last revision having taken effect in 2017,” EPF head of strategy management department Balqais Yusoff said.

EPF said members would now be required to have higher savings in their EPF account, in order to be eligible to participate in the EPF Members Investment Scheme.

The scheme provides members with an option to have a portion of their EPF savings in Account 1 invested in unit trust funds or via private mandates managed by the appointed Fund Managers Institutions.