In a statement today, EPF said another factor was structural wage challenges, whereby 44% of EPF’s contributors earn less than RM2,000 and 81% of them have an income of less than RM5,000.

“Also, inconsistent contributions are due to members shifting in and out of the formal sector with only 45% of the 4.81 million members in this age group making contributions in 2022, while the rest did not.

“In addition, only half of the private sector labour force, who are under formal employment contracts, are mandated to contribute to EPF and the remaining comprises individuals in other sectors, such as agriculture or informal work, or contract workers and business owners,” the statement said.

The other factor is that 59% of the 2.85 million members in this age group applied for Covid-19-related withdrawals and withdrew more than RM62 billion in total.

As of the end of December 2022, there were 4.81 million EPF members in the 40-54 age range, 2.17 million of which were active members and 2.64 million inactive members (defined as having made no contributions in the past year).

EPF, meanwhile, welcomes the government’s move to contribute RM500 on a one-off basis to both active and inactive members, to encourage more Malaysians to increase their retirement savings.

This incentive will serve as a catalyst for members to rebuild their savings, and achieve a dignified retirement, which in turn will help mitigate the impact of Malaysia’s rapidly ageing population, it added.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, when tabling Budget 2023 on Feb 24, said the government had agreed to contribute RM500 into the EPF Account 1 for members aged between 40 and 54 with less than RM10,000 in savings.