EPF Expected To Allocate 10% Of Members’ Contribution Into Akaun 3

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

16th April 2024 - 2 min read

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is expected to restructure the distribution of its members’ monthly contributions with the eventual rollout of Akaun 3, moving away from the current 70:30 ratio used for Akaun 1 and Akaun 2. Instead, it is likely that 75% of your monthly contribution will soon be channelled into Akaun 1, 15% into Akaun 2, and 10% into Akaun 3.

Members will also be allowed to transfer the amount in Akaun 3 into Akaun 1 and 2, if they prefer, so that they can maximise their dividend earnings. Of course, do note that funds in Akaun 1 are locked until after your retirement, whereas funds in Akaun 2 can only be accessed for specific reasons, including education, health, and housing. Meanwhile, funds that are kept in Akaun 3 will likely earn a lower dividend rate since it is a flexible account that allows for withdrawals at any time – similar to a savings account.

More details on these changes and Akaun 3 are expected to be announced and confirmed soon, especially since the government has been finalising details since the end of last year. Key info that has yet to be released include details on how the yearly dividends will be calculated. It was also previously said that Akaun 3 was set to be rolled out in April 2024.

For context, the EPF had mooted the idea of Akaun 3 – also known as the Flexible Account – back in July 2023, with the aim of helping members if they were to encounter cash flow problems in the future. This is especially during events of emergencies.

The proposal came following the massive withdrawals that were made by members during Covid-19 via four special EPF withdrawal programmes, which saw as much as RM145 billion taken out from the provident fund. This essentially highlighted the crucial need for a facility that can help members build an emergency fund for their future needs.

The chief strategy officer of EPF, Nurhisham Hussein had also previously shared that if approved, Akaun 3 will be automatically implemented for all new contributors, whereas existing members can opt in to create the new account, if they wish to.

(Source: New Straits Times)

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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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RH Wong

1 year ago

Account 1 locked. Anyone know if we can still withdraw if have excess over rm1 million?

ssenik

1 year ago

Reply to RH Wong

Exceeding RM1 million in your account might restrict withdrawals. It’s best to directly contact EPF for accurate information on withdrawal options in such cases.

Abah Ko

1 year ago

Account 3 should have minimal dividends as it would be hit with frequent withdrawals and hence can only use for short term investment which has low yield. Acc 1 and Acc 2 will have the normal higher dividend rates. This would encourage people to save money and punish those who simply withdraw it.

Solomon Lau

1 year ago

Is account 3 mandatory or optional?

Albert Piow

1 year ago

Account 3 should have a higher dividend in order to attract more contribution from new Members. With higher dividend Members shall re-invest back once their financial status rebounded.

Unhappy Cobtributors

1 year ago

Only helps the contributors in the future. Those who needs it now we can just said “mereput jelah”

cindy

1 year ago

Is there any interest for the money lock in account 1, account 2, account 3 if member not withdraw?

KH Lim

1 year ago

Not a smart mechanism after all.. The biggest problem today .. those that need funds need to dig in to Acc 1 as Acc 2 already dry. So how does this new acc 3 mechanism is helping those who don’t have balance in acc 2 and at the same time don’t have a job that contributes to kwsp ?