Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said that the revised Budget 2023 will contain alternative measures to help Malaysians cope with the rising cost of living, instead of relying on more Employees Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawals.

Ahmad Maslan reiterated that many EPF members simply just are not able to make more EPF withdrawals even if they wanted to, because their savings are already insufficient. To illustrate, he said that 6.7 million contributors above the age of 55 now have less than RM10,000 left – after four rounds of Covid-related withdrawals that had been permitted previously.

As such, the government will strive to include other measures in the revised national budget to assist those in the lower income groups, said Ahmad Maslan, echoing an earlier message from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Prior to this, Datuk Seri Anwar – who is also the Finance Minister – had commented that he will look for better solutions to help alleviate the people’s financial stress without resorting to yet another EPF withdrawal.

Aside from that, Ahmad Maslan also said that the government is looking at ways to increase wages for the people so that they can contribute more to their EPF accounts. In turn, it is hoped that this will eventually enable them to replenish their depleted retirement funds following all the previous withdrawals.

To note, approximately 8.1 million EPF members withdrew a total of RM145 billion during the Covid-19 pandemic via the i-Lestari, i-Sinar, i-Citra, and RM10,000 special withdrawal facilities.

(Source: Free Malaysia Today)

• TAGS:
• Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan
• Employees Provident Fund (EPF)
• EPF
• EPF i-Citra
• EPF Withdrawals
• i-Citra
• i-Lestari
• i-Lestari Withdrawal Scheme
• i-Sinar
• i-Sinar Withdrawal Scheme
• Special Withdrawal Facility