THE Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) today declared a 5.20% dividend for conventional savings and 4.90% for shariah savings for 2020, lower than the previous year.

The retirement fund’s total dividend payout for 2020 amounted to RM47.64 billion.

Of this, RM42.88 billion was for conventional savings while the dividend payout for shariah savings amounted to RM4.76billion.

For 2019, the EPF declared a dividend of 5.45% for the conventional savings and 5% for shariah savings.

The fund said it takes RM8.25 billion to pay out every 1% dividend for conventional savings and RM972 million for every 1% dividend for shariah savings.

Its five-year average real dividend for conventional savings after adjusting for inflation was 4.62% and 4.32% for shariah savings, which is above the fund’s five-year rolling target of 2.00%.

EPF chairman Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir said in a statement that the quick spread of Covid-19 and its transmissibility made it a black-swan event which many found challenging to manage. 

“We managed to safeguard our members’ retirement savings well, while meeting their immediate needs to deal with the current challenges. It was not easy at times as we had to walk a tightrope in ensuring that our members survive the difficult times while balancing their future needs,” he said.

“The quick spread of Covid-19 and its transmissibility made it a black-swan event that many found challenging to manage. However, we were proactive in managing the pandemic and that helped us to ride through the challenges.

“Our focus on digitalisation enabled us to assist our members more efficiently and seamlessly while ensuring that we remain relevant to members who are more technology savvy.”

Its overall investment assets grew by 7.9% to RM998 billion, with the market value hitting RM1.02 trillion at the end of 2020. 

Despite lower net contributions in the past year, the fund was able to realise sustainable returns from its investment due to its ability to adapt to current times.

EPF recorded its highest ever gross investment income of RM60.98 billion, with RM6.15 billion allocated to shariah savings.

EPF chief executive officer Tunku Alizakri Alias said in a media briefing today that the fund saw commendable returns across all asset classes.

In terms of asset classes, fixed-income instruments formed a bulk of its investments at 46%, followed by equities at 42%. 

Meanwhile, real estate and infrastructure as well as money market instruments made up 5% and 7% respectively.

As of the end of last year, the EPF’s overseas investment assets made up 33% of its portfolio.

Its membership base also grew by 2% to 14.89 million as at end of last year. – February 27, 2021.