The retirement fund said the steady recovery in the job market after the Covid-19 pandemic contributed largely to the higher collection.

The collection in Q1 2019, the year before the pandemic, was RM19.28 billion.

In a statement issued today, EPF said the ratio of active members to inactive ones rose to 53:47 in Q1 2023 from 51:49 in Q1 2022 thanks to improving market conditions.

Active members are those who have contributed at least once in the preceding 12 months.

The retirement fund now has 15.79 million members, of whom 8.45 million are active contributors. They account for about 50% of Malaysia’s 16.81 million-strong labour force.

New employer registrations also showed strong growth. There were 24,281 new registrations during the period, bringing the total number of employers registered with EPF to 595,730.

However, CEO Amir Hamzah Azizan expressed concern that more than 40% of Malaysian workers are still not covered by any form of social protection.

“EPF is taking steps to improve coverage of the country’s labour force through i-Saraan, which has been designed to allow workers in the informal sector or with no formal income to save for their retirement with EPF,” Amir said.

In Q1 2023, i-Saraan recorded 62,952 new registrations, raising the total number of members in this category to 997,659, a 67% increase from the 598,874 in the corresponding quarter last year, EPF said.