More Malaysians now allowed to tap on retirement funds, withdrawal ceiling raised to RM10,000
Caption Parliament
More Malaysians now allowed to tap on retirement funds, withdrawal ceiling raised to RM10,000
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Ministry of Finance announced on Thursday (Nov 26) that more than 8 million members of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) can now make withdrawals from their account 1 if their source of income has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The withdrawal limit has also been raised to RM10,000 (US$2,457), said Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz. Previously, the withdrawal was capped at RM9,000 for those with an account balance below RM90,000.
When wrapping up the policy stage debate on the 2021 budget in the parliament, Mr Tengku Zafrul said the scope of those allowed to withdraw through the i-Sinar programme has been widened to all members who have lost their jobs, given no-pay leave or have no other source of income.
“From 2 million members before this, i-Sinar is now accessible to over 8 million members.
“As long as their income has been affected significantly by the pandemic, they are allowed to withdraw their savings from account 1,” he said.
Former prime minister Najib Razak suggested that the allowed withdrawal amount should be upwards of RM10,000.
Source: CNA/c.n.a
