Deputy Finance Minister: More Than 50,000 Applications Made For EPF Akaun 2 Support Facility

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

13th April 2023 - 2 min read

Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan revealed that a total of 59,230 applications have been made for the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Akaun 2 Support Facility as of 11 April 2023. This came following the launch of the facility just a few days prior, on 7 April.

According to the deputy minister, only 27,705 of the total applications were deemed eligible. “Those who are not eligible are because they are under 40 years old, as we have said that only those aged 40 and above are eligible,” he explained.

Ahmad Maslan further reiterated that moving forward, members will only be able to make pre-retirement EPF withdrawals from Akaun 2 for the usual purposes that have been specified before. These include housing, education, health, certain protection plans, and hajj.

“We don’t say that we do not allow it (pre-retirement EPF withdrawals from Akaun 2), because then there will be no withdrawals from the EPF (at all). The EPF funds can still be withdrawn. There are five areas for a member to withdraw from EPF Akaun 2, while Akaun 1 is not allowed to be withdrawn because it is specifically for retirement purposes,” said Ahmad Maslan.

The EPF Akaun 2 Support Facility was introduced by the government and the EPF as an alternative to assist individuals who are still in need of financial assistance, instead of allowing another round of special EPF withdrawals. Set to be implemented in two phases – with Phase 1 already ongoing for members aged 40 and above – it lets EPF members use their Akaun 2 savings as a form of support to obtain personal financing of up to RM50,000 from participating banks, with a maximum repayment period of 10 years. Phase 2, meanwhile, will be announced later for members aged 40 and below.

Eligible members who are interested are currently able to apply for personal financing under the facility via two participating banks, namely MBSB Bank and Bank Simpanan Malaysia (BSN). MBSB Bank’s dedicated personal financing for this facility – dubbed Ihsan-i – is already open for application, while BSN’s is set to begin on 15 April.

(Source: Malay Mail)

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Alex Cheong Pui Yin

Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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