Anwar: Govt to consider proposal to impose periodic or monthly EPF withdrawals upon reaching 55 years (Poll Inside)

KUALA LUMPUR: There is no objection from the government on the proposal by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to impose periodic or monthly withdrawals upon reaching the voluntary retirement age of 55, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the government is in the final stages of fine-tuning the policies.

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“I have no objection. It depends on the capacity of EPF. If we listen to the statement made by EPF chief executive officer Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan earlier, there are some constraints, especially among those who have insufficient savings,” he told reporters after attending the International Social Wellbeing Conference 2023 on Thursday (July 6).

Also present during the event were Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa and Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

The Prime Minister was commenting on Amir Hamzah’s suggestion to encourage its members, who are 55 years old, to withdraw their savings periodically instead of a lump sum withdrawal to help the people to continue saving and have enough savings when they retire.

Amir Hamzah added that periodic withdrawals would provide an opportunity for members to better manage their retirement funds.

He argued that periodic or monthly withdrawals also allow members to continue enjoying annual dividends with their remaining savings.

Currently, monthly withdrawals are voluntary, but in the future, they may be made mandatory for new members.