KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 — A total of 94,827 Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members have less than RM10,000 in their savings as of January 1 this year.

Deputy Finance Minister Steven Sim made the disclosure during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today, saying the figure made up roughly 35 per cent out of 274,715 EPF members who are 54 year-olds.

"Members who are 54 years old who have RM10,000 recorded a high percentage — 35 per cent — with savings amounting to RM264.1 million, while members who are 54 who have RM1 million (savings) recorded the lowest percentage at 2 per cent, or 4,877 members with a total of RM7.9 billion,” Sim said.

He was responding to Kuala Selangor MP Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad from Amanah who wanted to know the breakdown in EPF members and the amount of savings they had at age 54, which is close to the retirement age.

In Malaysia, the official retirement age in the private sector is 60 though there have been suggestions to raise it higher due to the low savings amounts in the country’s largest pension fund.

In a written parliamentary reply last week, the Finance Ministry said the issue of EPF insufficient savings is at a serious level, with 6.3 million members under the age of 55, or 48 per cent, having under RM10,000 in their accounts as of September 30.

The ministry also said that with savings of less than RM10,000, members are expected to have a retirement income of less than RM42 per month for a period of 20 years.

The additional withdrawals from Account 1 also have a long-term effect, namely a significant reduction in retirement savings among EPF members, the ministry added.