9th October 2026 - 4 min read
According to Sabah and Labuan EPF director Mohd Fadil Sarehan on 7 October, about 80% of the 1.14 million EPF members in Sabah have less than RM50,000 in retirement savings. He said the main reason is that informal-sector workers, such as farmers and fishermen, don’t contribute regularly. Only 20% of members in the state have nominated someone to receive their EPF savings if they pass away.
EPF’s Retirement Income Adequacy (RIA) framework sets Basic Savings at RM390,000 by age 60, the amount EPF says you need to cover essential spending for 20 years. EPF is raising it step by step, so the Basic Savings level for a 60-year-old is RM270,000 in 2026 and rises by RM30,000 a year until it reaches RM390,000 in 2030.
RM50,000 is less than a fifth of this year’s RM270,000. EPF calculates that RM390,000 lets you take out RM1,625 a month in your first year of retirement. At that rate, RM50,000 would run out in about two and a half years.
DOSM puts life expectancy at birth at 75.5 years in 2026. A man who turns 60 this year can expect another 18.9 years, and a woman another 21.7 years, as we covered in our piece on Malaysians living to 75.5. Divided evenly over those years with no dividends, RM50,000 gives you less than RM250 a month.
| Spread Over | Years | Monthly Income From RM50,000 |
| A man’s years after 60 | 18.9 | RM220 |
| EPF’s 20 years | 20 | RM208 |
| A woman’s years after 60 | 21.7 | RM192 |
If your savings earned a 5% dividend every year, which isn’t guaranteed, RM50,000 taken out over 20 years would give you about RM330 a month. If you’re a woman, your RM50,000 has to last almost three years longer than a man’s.
Basic Savings is measured against your Akaun Persaraan balance, and each age has its own level. In 2026, a 30-year-old needs RM26,300 to be on track, and a 45-year-old needs RM108,000. You’ll find your Akaun Persaraan balance in the KWSP i-Akaun app, and the levels for each age in our article on EPF members who haven’t reached Basic Savings.
If your balance is below the level for your age, you can top up through i-Simpan. Auto Simpan in the i-Akaun app takes a fixed amount from your bank account every month, starting from RM10. If you’re self-employed, like many farmers and fishermen, and below 60, i-Saraan adds a 20% government incentive of up to RM500 a year, or RM5,000 over your lifetime. You’ll get the full RM500 by contributing RM2,500 a year. Gig, e-hailing and p-hailing workers can get up to RM600 a year, or RM6,000 over their lifetime, under i-Saraan Plus.
If you pass away without a nomination, your family can still claim your EPF savings, but they’ll need a court document such as a Letter of Administration, Grant of Probate or Distribution Order before EPF releases the balance. Getting one can take months and cost several hundred ringgit. If you have a nomination, EPF pays your nominee without those documents.
For non-Muslim members, your nominee receives the savings directly, in the percentages you choose. For Muslim members, your nominee acts as wasi (administrator) and distributes your savings to your heirs under faraid. Your will can’t change your EPF nomination. EPF doesn’t update it when you marry, divorce or have a child, so it’s a good idea to check yours after any of these.
You can start in the KWSP i-Akaun app under Profile, then Nomination, and enter each nominee’s IC number, relationship to you and percentage share. You’ll then need thumbprint verification at a Self-Service Terminal or any EPF branch. You can also fill in Form KWSP 4 at a branch, which takes about 15 to 20 minutes, and you no longer need a witness. Our guide to EPF nominations covers who you can nominate and what happens if a nominee passes away before you.
Wherever you live, EPF’s Retirement Goal Calculator in the i-Akaun app shows what your savings could grow to by 60 and how long they might last. Our guide explains how to use it. If you haven’t nominated anyone yet, you only need one visit to an EPF branch.
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Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister’s cats.
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