EPF Contributors Need Minimum RM100,000 Savings At Age 55 For Retirement - Researcher
By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- A university researcher suggested that Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors must have at least RM100,000 in savings by the age of 55 to enable them to afford living expenses of RM780 per month after retirement.
Senior research officer at the Malaysian Institute of Ageing Research (MyAgeing) at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Chai Sen Tyng said the amount should be pooled and invested until the contributor turns 60 before being distributed monthly, with initial payments starting at RM780.
He said the payment rate should be increased by between two and three per cent each year to take into account inflation and the rising cost of living.
“When (contributors) reach 65 or 70 years of age, the amount received is more than RM1,000 a month. As we get older, the cost of living and inflation also increase, so we cannot use the same amount of payment every year.
“The RM100,000 savings 'pool' approach in the EPF has the potential to cover a person's needs for a period of between 18 and 20 years after retirement, in addition to providing continuous financial continuity protection," he told Bernama.
He said this when met at the International Social Wellbeing Conference (ISWC) 2026 here today.
Chai said the proposal to create a RM100,000 savings as an annuity has similarities to the CPF LIFE concept in Singapore which allows citizens to withdraw savings at the age of 55, but must maintain a certain minimum balance.
“Through CPF LIFE, Singaporeans can withdraw savings at the age of 55 but must maintain a balance of S$60,000.
“When they reach the retirement age of 64, they receive a payment of S$570 per month guaranteed by the government until the end of their lives,” he said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia aims to increase the level of Retirement Income Adequacy to six out of every 10 EPF members to achieve the Basic Savings benchmark of RM390,000 at age 60 by 2030.
He said that currently, almost four out of 10 EPF members are on track to achieve the benchmark under the EPF Retirement Income Adequacy Framework.
“This is progress but there are still too many Malaysians who are at risk of running out of savings over the course of their retirement which could be as long as 20 to 25 years,” he said.
Anwar said the government has allocated RM1.26 billion for the welfare of the elderly, which will benefit 180,000 elderly Malaysians besides expanding activity centres to ensure that getting older does not necessarily mean isolation.
-- BERNAMA