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About 60% Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members are expected to reach the basic savings level of around RM390,000 by the age of 60 within the next four years
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said that as of the end of 2025, 3.1 million or 41.2% of active EPF members in the formal sector had already reached the basic savings level.
The figure refers to Malaysian citizens aged between 18 and 55 who are actively contributing to the retirement fund.
"This shows that there are still 4.42 million or 58.8% of formal sector members who are Malaysian citizens who have not reached the minimum savings level targeted to ensure sufficient savings upon retirement," Amir Hamzah said in the Dewan Negara on 5 March, as reported by Bernama.
He was responding to a question from Senator Ng Keng Heng about the government's estimate of how many Malaysians may not meet the sufficient minimum savings level by retirement age in the next 10 to 20 years.
Amir Hamzah said the government, through EPF, is working to ensure early withdrawals do not erode members' savings
One of the measures introduced is the Retirement Income Adequacy (RIA) benchmark, which acts as a guide to help members assess whether their retirement savings are sufficient before making withdrawal decisions.
For example, under the RIA benchmark, the Basic Savings threshold will be phased in gradually, starting at RM290,000 in 2026, rising to RM340,000 in 2027, and reaching RM390,000 in 2028.
According to him, the benchmark also encourages members to practise more careful long-term financial planning.
"At the same time, several measures to strengthen savings continue to be implemented, including account restructuring, namely the introduction of Flexible Accounts, encouraging voluntary contributions and more active promotions involving i-Simpan, i-Saraan and i-Topup," he said.
He added that EPF is also stepping up awareness campaigns to encourage members not to withdraw their savings in full as a lump sum, as this could affect their income after retirement.
Instead, members are encouraged to consider monthly withdrawal options to ensure a more stable income stream after they retire.
Amir Hamzah also noted that the number of active employers registered with EPF grew by 25,828, a 4.2% increase, to 640,391 as of December last year, compared with 614,563 in 2024
Meanwhile, the number of formal sector workers rose 3.3% to 8.2 million in 2025, up from 7.9 million in 2024. This growth contributed to higher contributions from EPF members who are Malaysian citizens.
In 2025, annual contributions reached RM120 billion, a 12% increase from RM107.1 billion in 2024.
