THE Human Resources Ministry is looking into the possibility of providing incentives for PERKESO contributors who have never made a claim, says minister Steven Sim (pic).
“It is in the planning stage and PERKESO is reviewing the matter, including conducting the mandatory actuarial calculations.
“The report will be presented to the PERKESO board of directors, which includes representatives from labour unions,” he said when winding up debates on the Employees’ Social Security (Amendment) Bill 2025, which was passed yesterday.
“If all goes well, we will soon announce how we can provide incentives to workers or contributors who have always taken care of their health and well-being and have never made any claims.”
The minister said he received queries from those who have contributed but never claimed whether they could get back the money they have contributed.
However, Sim clarified that PERKESO works on the basis of a takaful scheme instead of pension fund like the Employees Provident Fund.
After the Bill was passed, the ministry said the 24/7 Protection Scheme will provide comprehensive accident protection without limitations to working hours.
“With round-the-clock coverage, the scheme is expected to benefit more than 9.6 million active contributors from the formal sector, while addressing existing gaps by resolving thousands of accident claims that were previously ineligible because they were considered to have occurred outside working hours,” it said.
The ministry said among key benefits of the scheme is that it provides 24-hour protection, seven days a week, without the need to prove that the accident occurred during working hours.
It will also be a resolution to the 12,306 claims that were rejected from 2023 to October this year as they were categorised as non-work-related incidents.
