EPF offers alternative to earlier proposal of delaying full withdrawal by 5 years

Kuala Lumpur

THAT the average Malaysian has insufficient savings for retirement has been a long-standing problem, but it has become more contentious following a push to delay the full withdrawal of pension funds by another five years, or until the minimum retirement age of 60.

On Monday, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) proposed the following: raise the withdrawal age to 60 from 55 but implement it gradually over 15 years, or allow full withdrawal at 55 for existing savings but further contributions of those working beyond 55 to be withdrawn only upon retirement at 60 - following criticism over its earlier proposal with many insisting that full withdrawal at 55 be retained.