KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 — The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) will soon reveal details for Account 3, a new flexible account which allows members to withdraw funds at any time.
Ahead of the official announcement, New Straits Times (NST) reported early details for Account 3 and contributions are expected to begin as early as May onward.
According to the paper, Account 3 will start with a zero balance and compromise 10 per cent of future monthly contributions. With the new restructured system, Account 1 will receive 75 per cent of the monthly contribution while Account 2 will get 15 per cent. At the moment, the monthly EPF contributions are split at 70 per cent to Account 1 and 30 per cent to Account 2.
Unlike Account 1 and Account 2 where withdrawals are permitted for retirement or special purposes such as education, healthcare, housing and partial withdrawal at age 50, Account 3 provides flexibility for members to withdraw at any time like a savings account. According to Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah, the new account will replace the implementation of EPF-targeted withdrawals.
According to NST’s source, funds kept in Account 3 might get a “token” payment which is expected to be lower than the dividend for Account 1 and Account 2. However, it is said that EPF members will be allowed to maximise capital gains by transferring Account 3 funds to Accounts 1 and 2.
Recently, EPF has declared a dividend of 5.5 per cent for members with conventional accounts and 5.4 per cent for Syariah accounts for 2023. In total, EPF has paid out RM57.81 billion to members for 2023. By the end of 2023, there are 8.5 million active EPF members. — SoyaCincau
