Pensions for retirees to continue, assures Ahmad Maslan

The government remains committed to continuing pensions for retirees, despite the increasing burden of operating expenditure (OE), said Deputy Finance Minister I Ahmad Maslan.

In fact, he said improvements were being made through a comprehensive study involving civil servants' salaries and pension schemes.

He added that an estimated 32,000 new retirees are recorded every year, and the government spends RM31 billion to pay the pensions of more than 900,000 retirees.

Of that number, 768,947 retirees include pension recipients issued under the Retirement Fund (Incorporated) (KWAP).

"As of July, KWAP's unaudited gross funds reached RM184.5 billion. Approximately 80% of the funds are invested in the country, and 20% are international investments," he told reporters at the 2023 KWAP Contributors Forum.

KWAP, which is the third largest fund manager after Employees' Provident Fund and Permodalan Nasional Bhd, contributed a dividend of RM3 billion to the government.

Therefore, he said he wants KWAP to optimise investments to ensure more sustainable public sector retirees.

He added that 40% of KWAP funds are invested in fixed-income securities and private equity, while the rest are in the real estate and public equity sectors.

KWAP targets gross funds to reach RM200 billion in 2025, with an investment return of 7%.