Maintain status quo on EPF withdrawal

AS a member, I and probably the majority of other members of the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), the largest pension fund in the country, will not agree to its proposal to have the full withdrawal age upped from 55 to 60. EPF members have the right to a full withdrawal as it is their life savings placed with the fund for many decades. EPF should scrap the proposal as members are bound to oppose it.

The present full withdrawal at 55 should be retained. Leaving the money in the fund is like having it parked as fixed deposit in a financial institution waiting for a maturity date. The depositors look forward to collecting the principal plus interest. Similarly, members of EPF can be categorised as investors or depositors in EPF. EPF contributors know that all the money withdrawn will be gone in a few years’ time if they are not careful with their spending. But most of them are smart and to avoid from being “bankrupt” they would probably invest in unit trusts. It would be heartbreaking for those who have just a few more years left to the full withdrawal eligibility if the proposal goes through, as they would have to wait a further five years before they can withdraw their money.

Furthermore, what guarantees do members have that they can live up to 60 to collect all their savings? Sure, the average life expectancy of men and women has increased by five years, with men at 70 and women at 75. But some people die young. Several of my friends in their late 40s have passed on and they missed the withdrawal from Account 2 at age 50. A few did not make it to 55. That was the saddest thing to happen to them. So to implement a new ruling which only allows full withdrawal when a member has attained the figure 60 sounds archaic to me.