Ministry looking into ways to make EPF savings last a lifetime

[cyberfren]

KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Resources Ministry is looking into setting up a pension scheme for private sector employees so that their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings can last a lifetime.

Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said that through the scheme, the employees would receive a monthly pension instead of withdrawing all their savings upon retirement.

He said findings showed that many EPF contributors used up all their savings within two years and were left without any source of income.

“A pension will ensure that they receive a regular monthly income,” he told The Star.

The ministry was now drafting a working paper for the Finance Ministry. The scheme is under the purview of the Finance Ministry.

“We are still studying the matter and do not have a concrete mechanism for the scheme,” Dr Subramaniam said when asked how the scheme would work, if it would be a scheme by itself and if it would be made optional or mandatory.

He said the working paper would be ready in the next few months. The views of interested parties, such as employers and workers groups, were welcomed, he said.

Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said such a scheme should not be forced on EPF contributors.

“If it is a blanket ruling, you are suggesting that EPF contributors cannot manage their own money. And rightfully, the money belongs to the employee.

He said the scheme should not be associated with pension unlike “the government pension scheme where the money has a source, is non-contributory but based on the years of service.”

MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Mahmud said the scheme would be acceptable if the Government set up a separate fund to help poor retirees.

Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...sec=nation

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At last, Malaysia Government is looking into this 'serious' problem.... if u gotta to kick off this project, please refer to Singapore CPF scheme: LIFE, and China Retirement Pension

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