New EPF member registration up by 57% to 146,000 in Q1 2022

The registration of new Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members increased by 57% to 146,000 in the first quarter of 2022, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said today.

He said this was in line with the EPF’s efforts to embark on a long-term strategy to expand the social protection coverage of Malaysians in an attempt to strengthen the government-linked companies (GLC) support ecosystem.

"Currently, although various social protection initiatives have been introduced and some have received government funding, the average awareness of the importance of social protection and preparing for old age is still too low among a large number of Malaysians," he said at the EPF Insurance and Takaful i-Lindung facility launch ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.

Tengku Zafrul said one of the most important aspects was the strengthening of social protection, a responsibility given to the EPF when the government started implementing the GLC Transformation Programme.

He said the programme was to drive the recovery and reconstruction of the country's post-pandemic economy through the GLC and government-linked investment companies ecosystem.

On the i-Lindung platform, he said it could help EPF members receive protection in the face of unforeseen situations that could happen to anyone at any time.

"This is an important starting point to protect Malaysians and their families from the risk of death, total disability and chronic diseases," he said.

Meanwhile, EPF chairman Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir said he was confident that the i-Lindung facility would help realise the country’s aspiration to achieve an insurance penetration rate of more than 70%, in addition to helping members obtain insurance and takaful coverage.

"The i-Lindung facility is available at a minimum rate of RM30 per year with protection of RM10,000 and can be deducted from the second account," he said.

He also said the EPF was targeting 300,000 individuals for the i-Lindung platform for the first year. The i-Lindung platform is under the Members Protection Plan to facilitate the purchase of insurance and takaful products including life and critical illness coverage at an affordable premium from Account 2.

The offer of protection for EPF members is effective immediately.