PRS records 38 per cent growth in number of members last year

KUALA LUMPUR: The total number of Private Retirement Schemes (PRS) members grew by 38 per cent last year to 416,913 from 301,279 in 2017, with total net asset value of its funds rising 20 per cent to RM2.66 billion.

Private Pension Administrator Malaysia (PPA) chief executive officer Husaini Hussin said it managed to sustained the growth momentum despite last year’s challenging environment.

“This means that more people are aware that PRS is a longterm savings scheme and are less worried about short term market volatility,” he said in a statement yesterday.

PPA is the central administrator for PRS.

According to Husaini, almost 40 per cent of PRS members aged 30 and below, which reflects that more young adults are taking retirement planning seriously.

“The youth incentive has ended, but the drive to continue encouraging the youth to save for their future remains.

“PPA will also work with the industry to make it more affordable for the youth segment to start saving with PRS,” he said.

As for this year’s target, PRS said Husaini aimed to grow by a similar trajectory through all channels including digital initiatives, financial literacy programmes and corporate participation.

PPA also plans to introduce more value-added services and digital initiatives to provide PRS members an easy and secure avenue to automate their savings by setting aside a fixed sum for their retirement fund every month.

Another key area for PPA he said, is advocating corporate Malaysia to make retirement planning and financial wellbeing an essential component in workplace policy. — Bernama