JOHOREANS generally welcome the Federal Government’s proposal to change the Social Security Organisation (Socso) into a pension-like scheme to better cover private sector workers.
Property development employee Suria Mohd Sidin, 35, said Socso’s function could be expanded to cover the contributor in case of an accident or death.
Suria believes Socso’s function can be expanded to cover a contributor’s well-being holistically.
“So far, Socso has only been seen as a source of help for victims who have had accidents while working, but I believe that we can make improvements to the system so that the contributors’ well-being can be holistically protected.
“For example, in European countries, the wife of a male employee does not have to pay the cost of childbirth as they are also covered under social security benefits,” she said.
Suria, who lives in Johor Baru, opined that it should also be made transferable from contributor to the next of kin.
“This could be done if the contributor has never made any claims and their lifetime contributions is transferred to their heir,” she said.
Meanwhile, Arlyn Avelyn, 46, who owns a cafe in Johor Baru, said the government should not abolish the current Socso benefits as it was the only thing that made it different from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
“It is a good idea to turn Socso into a pension-like scheme but at the same time, they should not remove the current benefit it provides contributors.
“EPF savings from Account 1 can be withdrawn only at a certain age and Account 2 for any urgent cases, while Socso comes in when an employee is hospitalised and cannot afford to pay the bills.
“So if Socso could be improved to be pension-like while retaining the current benefit, it would be better than EPF and more could benefit from it as it is open to all types of workers, including those who are self-employed,” she said.
Communication executive Muhammad Ariff Mohamad Nizam, 30, who also works in the city, said the move would put employees in the position of paying for the same service twice.
“There should be a clear difference between the two and if the government decides to improve Socso to be like EPF, then why should we pay for both when we can choose one?“With the current situation, I do not think that any worker would want their salary deducted even further,” he said, adding that EPF and Socso should not overlap.
Arlyn thinks the government should not abolish Socso’s current benefits.
The government should also avoid introducing a high-percentage contribution if it were to make any changes to Socso, he added.
As for office clerk, Yeo Siew Li, 36, the change would help Malaysians as a whole, especially now that the country was heading into an ageing society.
“Many of us would not have any savings to cover our expenses later in life, so this scheme may come in handy one day.
“At the same time, this may be best for those who are working in Singapore as they have the financial strength to contribute to EPF and Socso,” she said, adding that those who earn a small salary could opt to be covered under any new Socso pension scheme.
On Sept 20, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan was reported saying that the ministry was planning to transform Socso into a pension-like scheme that could provide a better safety net for private sector employees aged above 60.
He said private sector employees contributed to Socso throughout their working life and it was only after they were 60 that they might need medical attention and their savings had been depleted.
He added that the nation was also burdened with caring for senior citizens above 60 who had no financial safety net of any kind.
Saravanan said there was a need to relook at the Socso contribution percentage as there had been no increase since 1971.
