Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) asked if the contribution was only intended for active EPF members while excluding inactive members, such as those with their own businesses or employed abroad.
“The government should accurately and comprehensively identify the target group for the additional RM500 contribution and review the data provided by EPF,” he said during the debate on Budget 2023 in the Dewan Rakyat.
When tabling the national budget last Friday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government would allocate RM1 billion to contribute RM500 to about two million EPF members who have less than RM10,000 in their accounts.
Anwar said the initiative would benefit members aged between 40 and 54.
Citing an EPF report from December 2021, Wee said there were approximately 1,935,453 members aged between 41 and 55. He said the average savings of those members stood at RM197,590.
He said the average savings of active members aged 54 was RM246,635 while the figure for inactive members was RM54,253.
Wee said there was either a discrepancy in the data or the country faced a major crisis if Anwar’s figure of about two million EPF members aged between 40 and 54 having less than RM10,000 in their accounts was true.
“It either means that these members have less than RM10,000 after years of contributions or they are not eligible for the RM500 contribution as their savings exceed RM10,000,” he said, adding that if it were the latter, the government’s RM1 billion allocation would not be distributed to anyone.
He said if contributors still did not have over RM10,000 in their retirement savings after working for about 20 years, it meant that the country was not in a middle-income trap but in a “super low-income trap”.
Wee then asked if the RM500 contribution would be distributed yearly, adding that it would not be sufficient for those relying on their retirement savings for their daily expenses.
“There are 365 days in a year. RM500 a year is only about RM1.30 a day. This is a big issue.”
Wee said he did not understand the rationale behind allocating RM1 billion for the RM500 EPF scheme and called on Anwar to provide an explanation.