Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) revealed today that up to 92 percent of Malaysians worry about their financial health and needs at old age as well as being unprepared for retirement.

BNM assistant governor Jessica Chew Cheng Lian said 33 percent are 'very worried' about their financial health when they get old, while the remaining 59 percent are 'a bit worried'.

Speaking at a panel session themed 'Your Retirement Aspiration: Making It A Reality' at the International Social Security Conference 2016 in Kuala Lumpur today, she pointed out that 40 percent of Malaysians say they are ready for retirement, while 80 percent claim they have the strategies to meet expenses at old age.

The most popular strategies include relying on the children or partner, continuing working, and relying on government financial assistance.

Chew stressed that most Malaysians adopt a passive strategy for retirement, with 42 percent preferring to buy properties, 25 percent opting to save money in the bank and 18 percent depending on the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

She noted that only 24,180 insurance policies with annual premiums of RM280.2 million have been sold since tax incentives were introduced in 2012.

To re-shape the reality among Malaysians, Chew said awareness has been raised through the integration of financial education into formal school curricula for pupils from Years Four to Six.

"We have also established a financial education network to coordinate and drive financial education initiatives at international level," she said.

Chew said BNM has also introduced diversified and innovative pension products to help individuals manage the risk of retirement.

She said prospective retirees' other strategies include improving the incentive structure, such as by encouraging a greater role for employers in providing voluntary occupational pension plans, as well as incentivising income drawdown to avoid premature depletion of savings.

According to Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society adviser Nathan Vytialingam, men aged between 65 and 74 are considered young-old, those aged between 75 and 84 are middle-old, while those aged above 85 are old-old.

- Bernama