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“To enable members’ retirement well-being, we will continue with our financial literacy agenda – partnering with relevant parties – to highlight the importance of taking charge of one’s finances early. As retirement planning is a continual effort, we plan to expand our RAS from the current 18 to 28 nationwide to enable easier access for our members.” Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, EPF chairman “We are now in the midst of preparing to expand RAS to another 10 branches by the end of 2017. By 2018, we target for all 67 branches to be able to provide RAS, and also to be able to reach out to rural communities via electronic and mobile platforms.” Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, EPF chief executive officer “EPF allows for various withdrawals for valid reasons. These rules are staggered to allow for money to be taken out for reasons such as paying off education loans, paying off housing mortgages and so on. Partial withdrawals or also known as pre-retirement withdrawals — can only be done from account 2 of your EPF. We are also encouraging members of the public with EPF online through the i-Akaun app.” Jawing Nayang, EPF Kuching customer service manager

Preparing for retirement is no easy feat. It takes years of planning, saving up and meeting financial goals to ensure a peace of mind during the golden years. On this front, our very own Employee Provident Fund (EPF) proactively ensures that all layers of the society are aware of their retirement advisory services (RAS), providing financial aid and advice in this regard. BizHive Weekly looks at EPF’s efforts to date and to come: