THE National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) wants the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Board to demand Putrajaya return the monies withdrawn by the B40 and M40 members as part of the Government’s stimulus packages.  

NUBE secretary general J. Solomon said the government should have provided aid to the public during the difficult Covid-19 pandemic period. 

Instead, he said that the government made workers withdraw their retirement savings to boost the economy. 

“Under the government stimulus package, instead of providing rebates and incentives during the epidemic to workers, the government made the workers withdraw from their savings to boost the economy.

“This was done through the introduction of i-Lestari, i-Sinar and i-Citra. Members of the EPF had withdrawn RM101 billion from their savings.

“Since it is the government which caused a huge decline in the B40 and M40 workers’ retirement savings through its stimulus package, it is only proper that the government replenishes monies withdrawn by these workers. 

“The government needs to find a mechanism for the replenishment for the protection of the contributors when they retire,” Solomon said in a statement today. 

Solomon said that the biggest beneficiaries of the three schemes are none other than the government and the employers. 
 
He added that the EPF Board’s primary goal should be to protect employees’ retirement savings and not to please the government for its political mileage and irresponsible employers.
 
He said allowing employees to tap into their retirement fund has literally wiped  out most of the members’ savings.
 
“The government prided itself on the fact that its stimulus package included RM101 billion when the money is not from the government’s coffers but from the workers’ retirement savings. 
 
“However, the majority of 7.4 million who withdrew are B40 and M40 members of the EPF. While these withdrawals are ploughed back to the economy and the business community benefited in a short term, the poor members’ retirement savings have depleted.

“Some 6.1 million EPF contributors are now left with savings of less than RM10,000. Of this figure, some 3.6 million members have less than RM1,000 in their savings, leaving them vulnerable and unprotected for their retirement. 
 
“Based on the minimum target of RM240,000 savings that EPF members should have upon reaching the age of 55, only 3% can afford retirement and sustain it with their savings,” Solomon said.
 
He said the government’s move to extend the period for the reduction in the EPF contribution rate from 11% to 9% in the recently announced Budget 2022 will further heighten the low retirement savings problem faced by workers.
 
EPF’s investment assets grew to RM1.02 trillion at the end of 2020 but declined to RM989.14 billion in June 2021. – November 22, 2021.