85,777 join SSP1M, exceeds RM460 mln in contribution

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 85,577 contributors have joined the 1Malaysia Retirement Savings Scheme ( SSP1M) with the contribution exceeding RM462.2 million as of November this year.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Othman Aziz said of the total, 11,086 members were now eligible to receive additional dividend, namely a maximum of RM120 per year, from the government for the first half of this year.

“For the Private Retirement Scheme ( PRS), a total of 212,000 contributors have made contributions at the eight participating financial institutions with net asset value of RM1.38 billion.

“Both schemes were initiated by the government to create a culture of saving for retirement for the young, the self- employed and for individuals without fixed income and it has received encouraging response from the public so far.”

He said this in reply to Senator Datuk Dr Johari Mat regarding the response to the two schemes since they were launched in 2010 and 2012 respectively, at the Dewan Negara sitting yesterday.

Meanwhile, when replying to Senator Datuk Yoo Wei How on the ministry’s plan on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) financing ecosystem, Othman said the financial industry had shown high commitment to helping the SMEs.

As of September, RM290.4 billion of cumulative funding has been recorded with an increase of 8.2 percent, he said.

The deputy minister also said that credit guarantees had also been provided to entrepreneurs seeking financing from financial institutions but have no collateral or proven track record, namely through Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Berhad.

“Micro- enterprises can also seek fundings under the Micro Financing Scheme without collaterals up to RM50,000 at 10 selected financial institutions,” he added. — Bernama