Meanwhile, a total of RM5.12 billion has been transferred to the Retirement Account, said the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
"About 3.16 million members or 24.3 per cent of the total 13.01 million EPF members under the age of 55 have withdrawn a total of RM7.81 billion from the Flexible Account," it said on the parliament website on Tuesday in a written reply to a question by Abd Ghani Ahmad (PN-Jerlun) who wanted to know contributors' Flexible Account renewal status as of May 11.
The MoF said this initiative is a proactive step to help the people cope with the changing employment landscape, aging population as well as changing needs according to the life cycle of EPF members.
"Among members who made the choice to have an initial amount, a total of 41,000 members who before the transfer had not achieved the basic savings level according to age, have now reached the basic savings level according to age following the transfer of part of their Sejahtera Account savings to the Retirement Account," it said.
The MoF said the EPF will remain committed to continue to provide competitive returns to contributors in an effort to increase their retirement savings balance and prevent contributors from falling into the crisis of old age poverty.
"Member's savings balance depends on their trend of contributions and withdrawals," it said. Consistent contributions, and withdrawals that are only made for reasonable purposes, will help members build up their retirement savings balance, it added.
-- BERNAMA
