By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Nov 3: It is irresponsible for the World Bank to propose an increase in withdrawal age for the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) without also increasing the retirement age, says Sarawak Bank Employees’ Union (SBEU) chief executive officer, Andrew Lo.
“How would retirees survive if they are forced to retire at 60 and cannot withdraw their savings until 65?” questioned Lo, who is also the Labour Solidarity and Learning Resources Association (LLRC) deputy president, in a statement today.
On Oct 30, the World Bank recommends that the qualifying age for social pensions be progressively raised to between 65 and 70 years.
In a report titled ‘Should Malaysia expand its social pension? Global evidence, design issues and options’, it described the EPF withdrawal age of 55 as too low given the country’s rapidly ageing population, recommending a gradual increase to between 65 and 70 years.
It also explained that raising the withdrawal age would better align with Malaysia’s demographic realities and improve retirement adequacy.
Meanwhile, Lo also praised the Human Resources Ministry for tabling the amendment to the Employees’ Social Security (Amendment) Bill 2025 to protect workers involved in accidents unrelated to their jobs and which happen outside their working hours.
“This is most welcome as it will enable a comprehensive protection to workers, especially in an era of non-traditional work and workplaces,” he said. — DayakDaily
