KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri T.C Goh, the President of the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong), has welcomed the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Board’s announcement of a 6.3% dividend rate for the past year.
However, he believes that the dividend rate for the proposed foreign worker or migrant worker EPF scheme should not be equal to the “citizens’ dividend rate”.
He emphasized that the government should clearly stipulate and implement a policy to ensure that Malaysian citizens fully enjoy the highest EPF dividend rate. He said this is crucial as Malaysian EPF members rely on their EPF savings for their retirement and old-age living expenses.
He pointed out that foreign nationals or migrant workers are not Malaysian citizens, do not work in Malaysia for the long term, and do not plan to retire and settle in the country.
“According to the government’s previous announcement, migrant workers and their employers will each contribute 2% to EPF. In contrast, citizen employees contribute 11%, while employers contribute between 13% and 12%, depending on salary levels. This creates a significant difference in contribution rates between the two groups,” he said.
Goh, who is also the President of the Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS), expressed his appreciation of the EPF’s 6.3% dividend announcement in a statement today. He noted that this is the highest dividend since 2017 (6.9% for conventional savings and 6.4% for Shariah savings), describing it as an “encouraging dividend rate”.
He pointed out that EPF’s investment profits increased from RM66.99 billion in 2023 to RM74.46 billion last year, marking an 11% increase. Within this growth, the dividend rate for conventional savings rose by 0.8%, while the Shariah savings dividend increased by 0.9%, which he deemed reasonable.
He believes that with global economic uncertainties persisting this year and domestic investment and business conditions facing continued challenges, both the government and EPF must plan ahead to ensure stable economic growth. He emphasized the need to achieve at least the anticipated 5% annual growth target, which would help sustain favorable conditions and dividend rates for its 16 million members in the coming years.
Besides this, Goh urged EPF members to cherish the government’s dividend rate and the power of compound interest, encouraging them to maximize and increase their savings to ensure a stable and quality retirement life.
He further noted that among the 16 million EPF members, 12 million are actively contributing, but over half (51%), or approximately 6.7 million members, have savings of less than RM10,000.
“Another concerning statistic shows that only 17% of members aged 51 to 55 have retirement savings that meet EPF’s basic savings requirement. For these groups, the outlook for retirement and old-age security is filled with significant challenges and uncertainties,” he said.
He stressed that these figures and realities deserve the attention of both the government and the public, and efforts should be made to improve the situation.
