Keep EPF withdrawal at 55 an option, says Soi Lek
Dr Chua also said extending retirement age to 60 should be preferential. — File picKUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — The MCA wants the private sector employees to be given an option to withdraw their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) at 55, should the retirement age be raised to 60, said party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
He said some employees needed their savings for pressing needs such as children’s education, elderly parents’ health care and medication while some others feel they deserved the flexibility of choosing when to withdraw their savings.
“EPF needs to look at the existing law, but as a political party, our stand is that they (employees) should be given an option at 55 to withdraw,” he told reporters after chairing a MCA central committee meeting here, today.
Currently, EPF members are entitled to withdraw their full savings at the age of 55, either in a lump sum or partially, while members are also allowed to withdraw their savings in their Account II at the age of 50.
Recently, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim has hinted that EPF may consider allowing members to withdraw their savings at the age of 55, following the tabling of the Minimum Retirement Age Bill 2012 in the Dewan Rakyat.
Dr Chua also said the party supported the retirement age being set at 60, but its implementation should not affect the young entering the job market.
“Malaysian law needs to be reviewed to allow flexibility. After 55, there should be a leeway, either to be extended or not,” he said.
He also said MCA was against any further initiatives by the Human Resources Ministry as the implementation of the minimum wage and the new minimum retirement age should be handled first.
“We have objected to the initiatives such as a life-long pension scheme for private sector employees and unemployment insurance scheme. We felt this should not be implemented now as the implementation of minimum wage and retirement age should be monitored first,” he said. — Bernama
