Employment Provident Fund (EPF) members who are below the age of 55 will see their accounts restructured into three categories, namely Akaun Persaraan, Akaun Sejahtera, and Akaun Fleksibel.
In a statement today, it said that the balances in Account 1 and Account 2 will remain unchanged, while Account 3, or Akaun Fleksibel, will begin with a zero balance.
New contributions received after the effective date will be distributed as follows: 75% to Akaun Persaraan, 15% to Akaun Sejahtera, and 10% to Akaun Fleksibel, the statement read.
Under the restructuring, Account 1, or Akaun Persaraan, is designated to accumulate savings intended to serve as income during retirement.
Account 2, or Akaun Sejahtera, is aimed at addressing life cycle needs that contribute to well-being during retirement, and Account 3, which will be known as Akaun Fleksibel, serves as a new account offering flexibility for short-term financial needs.
Savings in this account can be withdrawn at any time according to members’ needs.
EPF chief executive officer Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn said the main focus of the EPF account restructuring initiative is to empower members in making decisions to balance future needs for retirement between short-, medium-, and long-term financial needs.
“This initiative will also help increase members’ retirement savings so that they will have sufficient retirement income to sustain their needs after retirement. The restructuring exercise is aimed at enhancing members’ retirement income security while at the same time addressing their current life cycle needs,” he said.
He added members are given an opt-in option to transfer a portion of their savings balance in their Akaun Sejahtera (previously Account 2) as an initial amount to Akaun Fleksibel.
“The purpose of members being given the opt-in option for an initial amount transfer to Akaun Fleksibel is to enable them to make withdrawals from Akaun Fleksibel without having to wait for new contributions,” he added.
Akaun Fleksibel is a newly introduced account aimed at meeting members’ short-term needs. Savings in Akaun Fleksibel can be withdrawn by members at any time for any purpose, subject to a minimum withdrawal amount of RM50.
Applications for withdrawal from Akaun Fleksibel can be made through the EPF i-Akaun or at any EPF branch nationwide. Members can access the system fully on May 12.
For further details regarding the EPF account restructuring initiative, members can either visit any EPF branch nationwide, refer to the EPF official website, or access the EPF i-Akaun. The transfer method used when a member chooses to opt-in for an initial amount is as follows:
Balance in Akaun Sejahtera of RM3,000 and above
Transfers will be made as follows:
– Ten out of thirty (10/30) of the balance in Akaun Sejahtera will be transferred to Akaun Fleksibel,
– Five out of thirty (5/30) of the balance in Akaun Sejahtera will be transferred to Akaun Persaraan, and
– Fifteen out of thirty (15/30) will be retained in Akaun Sejahtera.
Balance in Akaun Sejahtera below RM3,000
Transfers will be made as follows:
– Akaun Sejahtera with a balance of RM1,000 and below, will have all funds transferred to Akaun Fleksibel,
– Akaun Sejahtera with a balance of more than RM1,000 and less than RM3,000, the amount transferred to Akaun Fleksibel is RM1,000, while the remainder is retained in Akaun Sejahtera,
– No distribution will be made to Akaun Persaraan for savings balances below RM3,000.
The difference in this distribution method is that it enables members with a low savings balance to also have a meaningful initial amount in their Akaun Fleksibel.
Members can only opt-in for the transfer of the initial amount to Akaun Fleksibel once, from the effective date until August 31, 2024, after which the opt-in cannot be cancelled, the statement added.
