60% of EPF members can reach basic savings level by 2030, says Amir Hamzah

2026-03-05 - 05:14

The government, through EPF, has voiced its commitment to ensuring that the erosion of basic savings due to early withdrawals can be controlled by introducing the retirement income adequacy benchmark. KUALA LUMPUR: An estimated 60% of EPF members can potentially reach the basic savings level of around RM390,000 at the age of 60 by 2030, says finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan. He said 3.1 million or 41.2% of active EPF members in the formal sector who are Malaysian citizens between 18 and 55 years of age had reached the basic savings level by age as of the end of 2025. “This shows that there are still 4.42 million or 58.8% of formal sector members who are Malaysian citizens and who have not reached the minimum savings level targeted to ensure sufficient savings upon retirement,” he said during a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Negara today. Amir was replying to a supplementary question from Senator Ng Keng Heng regarding the government’s official estimate of the percentage of citizens who are expected to fall short of the sufficient minimum savings level by retirement age in the next 10 to 20 years. Amir said the government, through EPF, was committed to ensuring that the erosion of basic savings due to early withdrawals could be controlled by introducing the retirement income adequacy (RIA) benchmark. He said RIA functions as a guide on the adequacy of retirement savings, helping members assess their savings position before making withdrawal decisions, thus encouraging more prudent long-term financial planning. “Several measures to strengthen savings also continue to be implemented, including account restructuring, namely the introduction of flexible accounts, encouraging voluntary contributions, and more active promotions involving i-Simpan, i-Saraan, and i-Topup. “EPF is also intensifying its awareness campaign to encourage members not to make full or lump sum withdrawals, which can affect income after retirement, but to instead choose the withdrawal option in monthly payments,” he said. The number of active employers registered with EPF increased by 4.2% to 640,391 as of December 2025 from 614,563 in 2024, while the number of formal sector workers grew by 3.3% to 8.2 million in 2025 from 7.9 million in 2024. This development factored into the growth of annual contributions by EPF members who are Malaysian citizens to RM120 billion in 2025, 12% higher than RM107.1 billion in 2024.