Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said that the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will be releasing detailed information on the i-Sinar facility on 2 December 2020.

“The EPF will announce the details, how the process is, and others on Wednesday,” said the minister during a programme produced by Bernama TV. The information provided then is expected to clear the public’s current confusion over the eligibility and process to withdraw their contributions via the facility.

The i-Sinar facility was first revealed by the EPF about two weeks ago as an alternative to Tengku Zafrul’s proposal to let selected EPF contributors make withdrawals from their EPF Akaun 1 during the tabling of Budget 2021. Under this proposal, eligible contributors will be allowed to withdraw RM500 per month, for up to RM6,000 for 12 months. In response, the EPF consulted its stakeholders to propose i-Sinar, which is an advance facility instead of a withdrawal facility. In other words, members who tap into it will need to replenish the amount taken out.

During this initial announcement, the EPF also explained that the amount that can be withdrawn via i-Sinar will depend on the existing balance that members have in their Akaun 1:

• Members with RM90,000 and less: Up to RM9,000 (subject to a maintaining a minimum balance of RM100)
• Members with RM90,000 and more: Up to 10% of Akaun 1 savings (capped at RM60,000)

Following that, Tengku Zafrul announced an update to i-Sinar in his winding up speech of Budget 2021, saying that the facility will now be expanded to all contributors whose income is affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes individuals who faced job losses, pay cuts or reduction in allowance, unpaid leaves, or loss of income (self-employed). The facility will also be made available to both active and non-active EPF members.

On top of that, the government also agreed to increase the maximum advance limit for EPF members with RM90,000 and below in their Akaun 1 from RM9,000 to RM10,000.

The EPF further clarified in a separate statement that i-Sinar will be open for application in mid-December 2020, with disbursement to begin a month after approval is granted.

(Source: Bernama)

• TAGS:
• Budget 2021
• Budget 2021 Winding Up
• Covid-19
• Employees Provident Fund (EPF)
• EPF Akaun 1
• EPF i-Sinar
• EPF Withdrawals
• Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz