New EPF withdrawal rule

The Star
Thursday July 14, 2005

KUALA LUMPUR: Contributors to the Employees Provident Fund who wish to take out their savings under Incapacitation Withdrawal will now be interviewed by EPF officials.

The new requirement also applies to members withdrawing their savings to sponsor themselves or their children in private institutions of higher learning under the Education Withdrawal.

“This requirement comes into force with immediate effect following the discovery of fraudulent withdrawal cases,” said EPF Senior (Public Relations) Manager Nik Affendi Jaafar in a statement.

He said the EPF had implemented the requirement to ensure that only genuine cases were approved and contributors used their EPF savings for the intended purpose.

“Under the Education Withdrawal, those applying to study at public institutions of higher learning need not go through an interview.

“It only applies to those who are withdrawing to pay tuition fees at private institutions,” he added.

For contributors applying for Incapacitation Withdrawal who could not be physically present at the EPF counters, arrangements could be made for the interviews to be conducted at their homes or at the hospital, he said.

Nik Affendi said the new procedure was not to burden contributors but to ensure their savings were properly used.

“Members must realise such fraudulent withdrawals will deplete their retirement savings,” he said.

As a national savings scheme, the EPF took its role as the custodian of employees’ retirement savings very seriously, he added. – Bernama