PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has clarified the distribution of dividends and the disparity of the payout between its conventional and shariah-compliant savings.
Responding to claims that EPF may have used its non-shariah income to boost the dividend for shariah savings, the fund said the shariah-compliant savings scheme operates independently from its conventional counterpart.
“Shariah savings derive its income solely from its portion of the syariah portfolio, while income for conventional savings is generated by both the shariah and conventional portfolios,” it told FMT.
EPF also said it employs a policy known as the “shariah income ratio” to allocate income between conventional and shariah savings, a practice that has remained consistent since 2017 when the latter scheme was introduced.
Last Sunday, EPF declared a dividend of 5.5% for conventional savings and 5.4% for shariah accounts, both higher than last year’s. For 2022, it gave out 5.35% for conventional savings and 4.75% for shariah accounts.
The total EPF payout to members is RM57.8 billion or 13% higher than 2022, which was RM51.14 billion.
EPF also explained the factors contributing to the smaller gap between dividends for shariah and conventional savings in the previous year.
It said the shariah portfolio experienced a significant equity write-down of RM2.54 billion in 2022, resulting in a lower dividend of 4.75% for shariah savings compared to previous years.
Despite the higher write-down, EPF said the improved portfolio health for shariah investments enabled more opportunities to realise gains as markets recovered.
“Higher capital gains from better portfolio position and rally in shariah-compliant technology equities in the US, coupled with a lower write-down in 2023, has contributed to higher improvement in shariah savings dividend compared to conventional savings,” it said.
