EPF gives assurance on govt’s portion of SP1M

> Fund: Its contribution to 1Malaysia Retirement Scheme usually received in March, and will then be credited into accounts

PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has assured eligible members that the government’s contribution under the 1Malaysia Retirement Scheme (SP1M) will be credited into their accounts.

“We usually receive the government contribution sometime in March. We advise members to check their account from time to time,” EPF told SunBiz.

EPF said it will routinely make government contribution claims based on accumulated contribution for the first (January to June) and second (July to December) halves of the year. The amount will be credited into members’ Akaun 1 (Retirement Account) after receiving the contribution payment from the government.

An SP1M member had claimed that the 10% government contribution for the scheme in 2017 was not credited into his account.

According to EPF, the contribution amount from members to SP1M stood at RM525.31 million as at Dec 31, 2017. There were 90,599 members under the SP1M as at Dec 31, 2017.

In Budget 2018, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak announced that the government’s contribution in SP1M will increase to 15% subject to a maximum of RM250 per person per year for a period of five years from 2018 to 2022.

Introduced in 2010, SP1M is a government initiative to ensure that those who are self-employed and do not earn a regular income achieve a certain level of savings upon reaching the retirement age. It aims to encourage them to voluntarily contribute to the savings scheme within their means.

Those who fall under the selfemployed category include farmers/ fishermen/taxi drivers, small-business owners/hawkers/night market traders, babysitters, commission-receiving agents (insurance agents, real estate agents), freelancers (including deejays, singers, actors, fitness instructors, consultants), business owners (sole proprietors/partners) involved in the trading of goods and services, online business operaters, professionals with their own practice (accountants, doctors, lawyers), housewives and pensionable employees.

Members’ contribution to the scheme may vary but is subject to a minimum of RM50, and payment can be made anytime. The government’s contribution is limited to SP1M members who are under age 55. Savings under the scheme will receive an annual dividend payment until the contributor reaches age 100.