FOR the yeart 2022, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) today declared a 5.35% dividend for conventional accounts and 4.75% for shariah.

The total payout for conventional savings amounts to RM45.44 billion and RM5.7 billion for shariah.

In total, the retirement fund will pay out RM51.14 billiion.

For the year 2021, EPF offered a dividend of 6.1% for conventional savings and 5.65% for shariah.

It paid a dividend of 5.2% for 2020, 5.45% (2019), 6.15% (2018), 6.9% (2017), 5.7% (2016), 6.4% (2015), 6.75% (2014), 6.35% (2013), 6.15% (2012), 6% (2011), and 5.8% (2010).

Shariah accounts received a dividend of 4.9% for 2020, 5% (2019) 5.9% (2018), and 6.4% (2017).

Economists had predicted a lower dividend of 5.0-5.5% for 2022 due to the poor performance of the local stock market last year and the four special early withdrawal programmes of the last three years.

To help people cope with the effects of the pandemic, account holders were each allowed to withdraw RM10,000 last year, after they were approved to withdraw three more tranches of money in 2020 and 2021. – March 4, 2023.