We received the following response from the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) regarding last month’s Expat News about the current restrictions on expats taking out their EPF contributions. We will follow up on this.
“We would like to refer to an article in The Expat (September 2012) regarding the ruling concerning EPF withdrawals for expatriates.
As your readers may already be aware,foreign citizens who are employed in Malaysia are permitted to contribute to the EPF but purely on a voluntary basis, unlike Malaysians, who are required by law to contribute.
While foreign EPF contributors may enjoy the same dividend rate as other EPF members and are eligible to take out their EPF savings under Leaving the Country, Death and Incapacitation withdrawals, they are not permitted to withdraw under any other withdrawals enjoyed by Malaysian members.
The rationale behind this is that foreign citizens who are working in Malaysia are not likely to be staying in the country for long, especially not beyond retirement. This therefore means that the other EPF withdrawals are not likely to be applicable to this group of contributors.
However, considering the current scenario surrounding expatriates, the EPF is presently looking into this matter and is
reviewing the existing rule for the benefit of its foreign members. Nevertheless, any changes to the existing rule will involve an amendment to the EPF Act.
As a customer-focused organisation, the EPF is committed to continuously improving our service and any feedback from our members is truly appreciated.”
Ahmad Fauzi Kamarudin, Manager, Corporate Communication, Employees Provident Fund (18 September 2012)
Read more: EPF Rules in Malaysia Outdated
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