EPF Archives | Tech ARP

Find out why the viral warning on the new EPF (KWSP) Nominee rules is really fake news, and warn your family and friends!

Claim : New EPF Nominee Rules Will Channel Money To Amanah Raya!

This warning about new EPF (KWSP) Nominee rules has gone viral on WhatsApp recently:

Forward as received

Malaysian pls read:

NEW EPF RULES

If ONE (1) of your Nominees in the EPF Nominees list dies, automatically the whole arrangement (EPF Nominees list) is VOID ..

Meaning if, you only put in One (1) name & unfortunately he/she dies before you – automatically EPF will channel your EPF money to trustee of AMANAH RAYA upon your death.

Even though if you have few names in the EPF Nominees list, – the whole arrangement is VOID & none of the individual names left in the EPF Nominees list will get their portion & automatically EPF will channel your EPF money to trustee of AMANAH RAYA upon your death.

Piece of advice – if any of the your Nominees in the EPF Nominees list dies, please do immediately approach the nearest EPF counter & present the Death Certificate of the individual & register your NEW / LATEST Nominee in the EPF Nominees list + NEW / LATEST percentage .

If, you & the other party (maybe spouse) involved in the same misfortune (accident / illness) that caused death to both yourself / spouse please, please alert your siblings / relatives / parents to immediately approach the nearest EPF counter & share the information within 3 days to AVOID all EPF money to be surrendered to trustee of AMANAH RAYA .

Upon surrender to trustee of AMANAH RAYA, your children will have to battle the money thru 3 channels;

Majlis Agama
Pejabat Tanah
Mahkamah

The normal period via above 3 channels usually takes 2-3 years (except if you have inside/tip top connection) at Amanah Raya.

CHOOI & CO
Advocates & Solicitors
(Editor: address removed)
GEN Tel: (Editor: phone number removed)

Show less

Truth : New EPF Nominee Rules Will Not Channel Money To Amanah Raya!

This is yet another example of fake news circulating on WhatsApp, and here are reasons why…

Let me start by pointing out that the Employees Provident Fund (EPF / KWSP) has publicly refuted the viral warning.

The EPF emphasises that the information in the chain email is NOT TRUE.

I will now go through the claims, and share with you what EPF / KWSP has said about those allegations:

Whole EPF Nominee List Is Void When A Nominee Dies?!

False. EPF clearly states that it is not true that your nominee list is deemed void whenever one of your beneficiaries die.

If an EPF member nominates more than one beneficiary, and one of them dies, then only the portion bequeathed to that deceased beneficiary will be invalid.

If the EPF member dies without updating his/her EPF nominee list, the surviving beneficiaries will receive their portions accordingly.

Meanwhile, the portion bequeathed to the deceased beneficiary will be subject to procedures under “EPF savings without nomination”, where the priority for the right to claim shall go to the next of kin or appointed administrator in charge of your estate.

Your EPF Money Goes To Amanah Raya If No Beneficiary?!

False. If an EPF member nominates a single beneficiary, and the beneficiary dies, the nomination is void unless a new beneficiary is nominated. However, if the EPF member dies without nominating a beneficiary (or the sole beneficiary has died), the following conditions apply:

If the member has less than RM25,000 in his/her EPF Account, the initial sum of RM2,500 will be paid to his/her next of kin. The balance will be paid two months after the member’s death.

If the member has more than RM25,000 in his/her EPF Account, the initial sum of RM2,500 will be paid to his/her next of kin. The second payment (not more than RM17,500) will be paid to the next of kin two months after date of death. The balance of the savings will be paid upon submitting the Letter of Administration / Grant of Probate / Distribution Order / Faraid Certificate from estate administrators such as Amanah Raya Berhad or the Court or the Land Office.

For Muslim members, the Faraid Law will apply, in which case the beneficiary will act as an administrator or “wasi” who will be responsible for distributing the savings in accordance to the Faraid Law.

You Must Produce Death Certificate To Change Nomination?!

False. EPF members do not need to produce the death certificate of a deceased beneficiary to change their nomination.

EPF members can change or update their nomination at any time, by completing a new KWSP 4 Form. This will automatically revoke any earlier nomination made.

Family Members Must Go To EPF Counter Within 3 Days?!

False. The family of EPF members who happen to die together with their nominees do not need to go to the EPF counter within 3 days, to prevent their savings from being “surrendered to Amanah Raya”.

EPF will disburse the money as if the EPF member died without nominating a beneficiary (see above).

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

Recommended Reading

Go Back To > Fact Check | Money | Tech ARP

Support Tech ARP!

Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!

What exactly is the EPF “flexible” Account 3, and how does it affect your retirement plans? Here is what we know so far…

EPF Account 3 To Be Implemented In April 2024

When Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim tabled the 2024 Budget on 13 October 2023, he also announced that the government will introduce a flexible EPF account, which would allow people to withdraw their retirement savings immediately.

On 21 November 2023, the Deputy Finance Minister I, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, announced that the “flexible” EPF Account 3 will be implemented in April 2024:

EPF will announce its dividend in February 2024, and the Finance Ministry will then announce a detailed plan on the flexible account. The third account will be implemented starting from April next year.

EPF Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Amir Hamzazh Azizan said that it is fine-tuning details of the “flexible” third account:

We are looking at all possibilities, whether it (withdrawals) is free for all or whether it should be guided.

The concept at the moment is to have a flexible account because we have learned during Covid that sometimes there would be circumstances that make it difficult to go from day to day.

EPF “Flexible” Account 3 : What We Know So Far!

Here is what we know so far about the EPF “flexible” third account, or Account 3:

EPF Account 1 Won’t Be Affected

Currently, EPF contributions are divided into two accounts:

Account 1 : 70% of monthly contribution
Account 2 : 30% of monthly contribution

EPF chief strategy officer, Nurhisham Hussein, said in July 2023 that the percentage of contribution for the proposed “flexible” Account 3 has yet to be determined, but would be about 5% to 10% of the monthly contribution.

He also said that Account 1 would remain with its 70% contribution, and that contribution to Account 2 would be reduced instead, to fund Account 3. When implemented, the ratio would look something like this:

Account 1 : 70% of monthly contribution
Account 2 : 20% to 25% of monthly contribution
Account 3 : 5% to 10% of month contribution

EPF Account 3 Will Apply To All

When introduced, Account 3 will apply to all EPF contributors. This was confirmed by Deputy Finance Minister I, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, on 24 October 2023.

It can be accessed by all members, be they from the B40, M40 or T20 groups.

EPF Account 3 Will Have Lower Dividend

While there was speculation that the flexible Account 3 would have no dividend, EPF chief strategy officer Nurhisham Hussein, dispelled that notion on 11 July 2023.

However, the proposed EPF Account 3 is expected to have a lower dividend rate when implemented. The lower dividend rate has not been revealed.

You Can Transfer To Account 1/2

The lower dividend rate for Account 3 will be a real concern for contributors who want to save for their retirement, and do not plan to withdraw their savings early.

Even a small reduction in the dividend rate will make a big difference, because of the snowball effect of compound interest over time.

Fortunately, Nurhisham said that members will have the option to transfer their Account 3 savings into Account 1 or Account 2, if they prefer to avoid the lower dividend rate.

Hopefully, this can be implemented with a single opt-in registration, and would not require the money to be transferred on a monthly basis.

EPF Account 3 Will Offer Immediate Withdrawals

In the past, contributors can request to withdraw from their Account 2 to fund certain large purchases:

To pay for education
To purchase or build a house
To pay for a housing loan
To cover medical expenses

Unlike Account 2, the proposed “flexible” third account will function like a savings account, and allow contributors to withdraw, as and when they wish.

EPF Accounts To Be Renamed

When EPF introduces Account 3, it will also introduce new names for the three accounts, to better reflect their purposes:

Account 1 : Retirement Account
Account 2 : Value-Added Account
Account 3 : Flexible Account

The renaming will help people better understand the use and purpose of each account.

Recommended : Can You Get Free Cash Via MyKasih App?!

EPF “Flexible” Third Account : Is It Useful?

Personally, I feel that the EPF “flexible” Account 3 is like swatting an elephant with a lidi stick.

EPF contribution amounts to 23% to 24% of your monthly salary. Even if Account 3 receives 10% of that contribution, that amounts of just 2.3% to 2.4% of your monthly salary.

Account 3 is targeted at the informal sector workers, many whom earn minimum wage or close to it. Let’s say you earn RM3,000 a month – TWICE the minimum wage of RM1,500.

Your Account 3 will only receive RM72 a month.
After 1 year, your Account 3 will only have RM864.

As you can see – that is not a lot of money, even for people who earn twice the minimum wage. Yes, it is better than borrowing money from loansharks, but the small percentage that funds Account 3 means you don’t really have much to work with.

On top of that, you are actually “losing” money even if you don’t actually withdraw any money. Parking all the money in Account 3 will garner lower dividends. It may be small, but the difference snowballs over time because of compound interest.

As it is, EPF announced in mid-November 2023, that some 48% of its contributors – 6.3 million people – have less than RM10,000 in their accounts!

If you can afford it, you should transfer all money stored in the “flexible” third account, to Account 1 or Account 2, when this scheme is implemented.

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

Recommended Reading

Go Back To > Fact Check | Cybersecurity | Tech ARP

Support Tech ARP!

Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!

Tech ARP

For the best in science + technology!

Tag Archives: EPF

Why viral warning on New EPF Nominee Rules is fake news!

Claim : New EPF Nominee Rules Will Channel Money To Amanah Raya!

Truth : New EPF Nominee Rules Will Not Channel Money To Amanah Raya!

Please Support My Work!

EPF “Flexible” Account 3 : What We Know So Far!

EPF Account 3 To Be Implemented In April 2024

EPF “Flexible” Account 3 : What We Know So Far!

EPF “Flexible” Third Account : Is It Useful?

Please Support My Work!