Kota Kinabalu: Some 1.3 million (60 per cent) of Sabah’s 2.3 million workforce are not registered as members of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), making the State among the lowest EPF contributors in the country.
EPF Regional Director for Sabah and Labuan, Mohd Fadil Sarehan, said this is due to several factors, including low financial literacy, wrong perception of EPF and infrastructural and geographical challenges.
He said the number of EPF-registered employers in Sabah increased by 13 per cent (4,181) from 35,138 in January 2020 to 39,319 in June 2024.
“This shows the level of awareness of contributing to the EPF among employers in Sabah is increasing.
“Overall, the number of EPF members in Sabah also increased by 13 per cent (106,082) from 852,115 in January 2020 to 958,197 in June 2024.
“This shows the coverage of social protection through the culture of saving in the EPF and the level of awareness of retirement savings among Sabahans is increasing,” he said during the State Media Engagement Council (Sabah Chapter), here, Wednesday.
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However, not all EPF account holders have savings in their account.
Mohd Fadil said as of June 2024, approximately 235,000 EPF account holders have below RM5,000 in savings, while 103,000 have between RM5,000 and RM10,000.
Another 179,000 EPF members have between RM10,000 and RM50,000 in their EPF savings, and 60,000 have between RM50,000 and RM100,000.
Some 71,000 have between RM100,000 and RM500,000, while only 7,000 have half a million ringgit or more in savings, said Mohd Fadil.
He said it is vital to have proper savings to avoid financial constraints in the future.
“My advice is to save in EPF because it is among the safest platforms to keep and raise money.”
To ensure that this trend continues to increase and benefit the people of Sabah, Mohd Fadil said support and cooperation from the media is essential.
“Continued collaboration with the media is vital to further increase the registration of employers contributing to the EPF.”
Mohd Fadil encouraged Sabahans to participate in i-Saraan which is an incentive by the EPF under the 2024 Budget that allows self-employed individuals and those with no fixed income to make voluntary contributions for retirement purposes, and at the same time receive additional contributions as incentives from the Government.
According to him, i-Saraan savings can be made voluntarily either by the individual himself or by a third party.
“For example, children save for their father, the father saves for his son and siblings save for their brother/sister.
“Our voluntary saving method is as easy as doing online shopping. It means that we choose the amount we want and transfer only the amount.
“Secondly, when we save voluntarily, it is not legally binding at the moment, meaning you can save RM10 in i-Saraan today and then save another RM10 five months later...it is not necessary to save every month like regular contributions.
“Thirdly, saving voluntarily in the EPF is safe, besides getting incentives from the Government,” he said.
Mohd Fadil said EPF Sabah is currently focusing on promoting i-Saraan among about 80,000 people under Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), Tabung Ekonoomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga (Tekun Nasional) and Farmers Organisation in Sabah.
About the event, he said it was to enable the media to understand the role and challenges faced by the EPF in Sabah to help give awareness to the people about financial planning.
Also present were EPF Corporate Affairs Department Head Muhammad Shuhaili Mohd Shafie and EPF Kota Kinabalu Branch Head Sabarudin Hassan, among others.
