THE Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will launch its i-Sayang initiative in the first quarter of next year, as part of ongoing efforts to improve the livelihood of the people.

EPF chairman Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir said the initiative will allow for the voluntary transfer of 2% contributions from the husband’s account to the wife’s account.

The retirement fund is set to launch another facility: i-Lindung, which allows for Account 2 withdrawals to purchase life and critical illness insurance through the EPF platform.

“We are also exploring other initiatives, including the gradual approach towards mandating legal EPF coverage to non-agriculture informal sector workers,” said Badri.

“We will be advocating our voluntary excess scheme, where members can compel employers to increase their EPF contribution to more than the 11% statutory rate,” he said in his opening speech at the 9th International Social Well-being Conference (ISWC) 2021 today.

He said ISWC aims to lay out the different aspects of global inequality issues this year.

“Together, we believe that an improved social protection framework can help us minimise, if not eradicate, its (inequality) negative impact on humanity.”

EPF chief executive officer Amir Hamzah Azizan said one of the concerns exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic is the intensified issue of inequality.

“The issue of inequality has been festering well before the pandemic. While many nations have tried to stem the Covid-19 impact through intensive and short-term mobilisation of resources, these initiatives are only temporary fixes, not long-term solutions that are able to protect the lives and livelihoods of the people.”

The two-day event is jointly organised by EPF, the Finance Ministry, Prime Minister’s Office and International Social Security Association.

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz is scheduled to close the conference tomorrow. – Bernama, November 23, 2021.