Most working Malaysians contribute to their EPF account every month without giving much thought to what happens to those savings if something unexpected occurs. By the time you reach retirement age, your EPF could be worth hundreds of thousands of ringgit. Yet many members have never filled out a nomination form.

Without a nomination, your family won’t just grieve. They’ll also spend months navigating paperwork, courts, and fees just to access money that was always meant for them.

An EPF nomination is a written declaration you make to appoint someone to receive or manage your savings if you pass away.

How EPF Nominations Work

The nomination process works differently depending on your religion.

For non-Muslim members, your nominee is the actual beneficiary. They receive your EPF savings directly. Name your spouse and two children with 50%, 25%, and 25% shares, and that’s exactly how the money gets distributed.

For Muslim members, your nominee acts as a wasi (administrator) rather than a direct beneficiary. Their job is to receive your savings and distribute them to your rightful heirs according to faraid (Islamic inheritance law). The nominee doesn’t personally keep the money unless they’re also entitled to a share under faraid.

Both Muslim and non-Muslim members can appoint Amanah Raya Berhad (ARB) as their nominee instead. ARB then becomes the administrator for 100% of your savings.

Aspect	Non-Muslim members	Muslim members
Role of nominee	Direct beneficiary	Wasi (administrator)
Who gets the money	Exactly as specified in the nomination form	Rightful heirs under Islamic inheritance law

Who Can You Nominate?

Your nominee must be at least 18 years old and either a Malaysian citizen, a Permanent Resident, or a non-Malaysian who registered as an EPF member before 1 August 1998.

EPF recommends nominating immediate family — your spouse, children, or parents. You can nominate someone under 18, but ARB will hold the funds as trustee until they reach adulthood.

You can split your savings between multiple people, as long as the percentages add up to 100%. You can update your nomination at any time by submitting a new KWSP Form 4, which automatically cancels the previous one.

What Happens If You Die Without A Nomination

Without a nomination, your heirs can still claim your EPF savings — but they’ll need legal documents first. A Letter of Administration, Letter of Probate, or Distribution Order from the courts. That process can take months and cost several hundred ringgit in fees, all while your family is already dealing with loss.

With a valid nomination, none of those documents are needed. EPF releases the funds directly without the months-long court process.

If no one claims your savings and you have reached 100 years old, the money gets transferred to the Registrar of Unclaimed Moneys.

Updating Your Nomination After Marriage Or Divorce

EPF doesn’t automatically change your nomination when your marital status changes. If you nominated your parents before your wedding and never updated the form afterwards, your parents are still your nominees, not your spouse.

Major life events like marriage, divorce, or the birth of a child are good reminders to review your nomination. To update it, visit any EPF office to submit a new nomination, which automatically revokes your previous one and takes effect from the date EPF receives it.

EPF Nomination vs Your Will

Your EPF nomination and your will are two separate legal documents. They operate independently. And if they contradict each other, the EPF nomination wins.

If you’ve nominated your brother in your EPF form but stated in your will that your spouse should receive your EPF savings, your brother still gets the money because the will cannot override an EPF nomination.

For Muslims, even though your nominee receives the funds as a wasi, the actual distribution should follow faraid law unless all the faraid beneficiaries agree to follow your wasiat (will) instead. 

Treat your EPF nomination and your will as separate documents. If your intentions change, update both.

How To Complete Your Nomination

You can start the process online through the KWSP i-Akaun app or the i-Akaun Member web portal, but you’ll still need to visit an EPF office to complete thumbprint verification.

Log in, go to the Home tab, select ‘Profile’, then ‘Nomination’. Choose ‘Register for nomination’ to create a new one or ‘View my nomination’ to check your existing details. Enter your nominee’s information: their IC number, relationship to you, and the percentage share you’re assigning. Once you’ve finished online, visit a Self-Service Terminal (SST) or any EPF office for thumbprint verification.

Prefer to skip the online portion? You can complete a physical KWSP Form 4 at any EPF branch instead. Malaysian citizens and Permanent Residents should bring a copy of their MyKad or MyPR, plus copies of their identification documents for each nominee. Non-Malaysian members who registered before 1 August 1998 need their passports and copies of their nominees’ identification documents. Since January 2017, you no longer need a witness.

Common Nomination Problems

If a nominee dies before you: Only their portion becomes invalid. Surviving nominees still receive their designated shares. The invalid portion gets treated as un-nominated savings and may need to go through the estate administration process.

If you made a full Age 55 Withdrawal on or before 1 February 2008: Your nomination was revoked. Contact EPF directly if you want to make a new one.

EPF Death Assistance

EPF offers a one-time RM2,500 payment to eligible dependents of deceased members. To qualify, the deceased must have been a Malaysian citizen, below 60 at the time of death, and still had savings in their EPF account. The application must be submitted within six months of the member’s passing.

Make The Time

The whole process takes about 15 to 20 minutes at an EPF branch and could save your family months of paperwork, hundreds of ringgit in fees, and considerable stress during an already difficult time.

If you haven’t filled out your nomination form yet, put it on your to-do list for this month. If you filled one out years ago, check that it still reflects your current wishes.

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