Ready for Retirement? ... (2)

Reported in the NST, 17 Oct 2005: A recent EPF-Universiti Malaya study revealed that a contributor would only have an average RM99,000 in his savings with the EPF upon retirement. Other findings:

• Of the EPF’s 10.7 million members, less than half or 5.07 million are active.
• 2,661 members have at least RM1 million in their accounts - collectively have RM4.09 billion, representing a mere 0.025 per cent of the fund’s 10.7 million members.
• Only 291 of the 2,661 millionaire club members are women.
• Another 864 members had savings between RM900,001 and RM1 million. Of these, 110 were women.
• The average contributor would only have about RM99,000 in his savings with the EPF upon retirement. This, the EPF said, is insufficient simply because Malaysians live an average of 20 years after they retire. The study also said retirees would use up the money within a couple of years.
• For the record, the EPF paid dividends of between eight and 8.5 per cent between 1980 and 1994. Last year, it paid only 4.75 per cent.
• EPF board submitted several proposals to the Treasury to help members maximise their savings. Among the measures proposed were to limit withdrawals.

NST, 17 Oct 2005: EPF’s ‘millionaire club’ members
MM, 17 Oct 2005: 2,661 EPF members in ‘millionaires club’
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