Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors disagree with EPF’s proposal to raise minimum withdrawal age from 55 to 60.

EPF on April 10 announced that it is considering raising the minimum age for full withdrawal from 55 to 60, so people will have sufficient savings when they retire.      

Those met at the EPF office at Jalan Gasing in Petaling Jaya today said it is not feasible to only withdraw at the age of 60 due to commitments they have on hand.

One EPF contributor, who only wanted to be known as Mrs Liu, said the proposal to raise the retirement age to 60 will burden the people, especially those who start families at a later age.

"Those who married late, their children are still in colleges and universities, so when we reach 50 or 55, there are education needs and all that. (The amount is) beyond the EPF Account 2, so we do need the Account 1.

"Please give the (EPF) members the option (to withdraw at an younger age)," the 50-year-old who works in the finance industry said.

EPF members hold two accounts -  Account 1 and Account 2. Account 1 is where most contributions are placed. It cannot be withdrawn until a person reaches retirement age.

The remaining contributions are held in Account 2, which EPF members can withdraw for specified reasons, like home purchase or investment in mutual funds.

'No money to fix sofa'

A semi-retired worker in his 60s, who only wants to be known as Mok, told Malaysiakini the withdrawal age should be maintained at 55.

Mok said adjustments to the threshold would mostly impact those reaching 55 who had made plans thinking they can withdraw their EPF contributions.

"It's okay for those who are not (yet) reaching 55, (but) those reaching 55 are unable to withdraw their money," he said.

Segarjayaraman, 52, (right) is among those banking on cashing out at 55.

"I think 55 is better. We are still active. We can use the money to go overseas. I'm not sure if I can wait up to 60 years old or not.

"I don't have enough money. And my sofa (at home) is damaged. I told my wife to wait another three years," he said.

The EPF also received brickbats on the proposal on its official Facebook page, but maintained it is only trying to safeguard members’ interests.

It said its study found that 70 percent of retirees who emptied out the EPF money at 55 spent it all within ten years, and this is a cause for concern.

"The EPF considers members’ views on the Full Withdrawal Age 55. The EPF will conduct a public consultation to obtain members’ views and feedback which will be announced within one week," it said on its Facebook page yesterday.

'We are not clear on the investments'

Salesperson Hoo, 49, told Malaysiakini that he is sceptical.

"I think the government is short of money and is lacking transparency. This is our money but we are not clear on the investments," he lamented.    

Among investments by EPF that attracted much criticism is its purchase of Felda Global Ventures shares. The share price is now half the price of its initial public offering in 2012.

According to EPF’s website , it invests in Malaysian government securities, loans, debentures and bonds, shares, the money market and in property.

"EPF funds have never been used to rescue any selected companies as EPF investments are only made based on tight guidelines approved by the EPF Investment Panel, including property, in order to obtain returns on the investments," it said.