very true... but in this case, I rather they take their own sweet time to analyse, get feedbacks from society, run simulation, talk to many people... etc...
longer it takes, the better. Assuming whatever rule change only impact new members after they announce the new rules/mechanism.

edit:
parent who has kids of age 14 and above... should seriously consider getting their kids to open epf accounts before the new rules come out.

i have not read anything to indicate that EPF has already finalized or announced the new rules... hopefully I didn't miss anything

This post has been edited by Wedchar2912: Jul 19 2025, 09:34 PM

the 500rm i-saraan incentive can be a great pull factor to creating new accounts...

Many of my friends open accounts for their kids just to get the incentive by pushing 2500 rm in.

hope so... been waiting since Q1... faster gov credit, that 500 can accumulate div too. each month earlier is extra 2rm at least.

The limit is gross into EPF for self-contribution...

if want to top-up more, and if you are an employee, elect a higher salary deduction for EPF. Go through your HR.

This post has been edited by Wedchar2912: Aug 29 2025, 04:53 PM

would you so happen to know... the amount in the Akaun Emas (ie the funds contributed after 55 but before 60).... can one withdraw from Akaun Emas if have more than the mandated threshold (by 2028 is 1.3 million)?

just curious... pretty sure whatever that is set now, may change again when i reach 55.

ah ok... kinda disappointing if that's the rule... a bit weird as money is fungible...

It also feels like epf is hinting that those who can afford to retire... if you contribute, ur money is stuck...
while those continue working actually cannot afford to retire,and hence the contributions cannot be touched till forced to retire. somemore, official retirement age may change to 65... by then Emas will become Platinum?

then I propose the metal names... for each of the age

50yo: Titanium
55yo: Perak
60yo: Emas
65yo: Platinum

haha. keep all of them.... one day, age 70 will be proposed, and it shall be Palladium. already planned for EPF.

haha....

at 100, from EPF's point of view, everyone is at most a Diamond created from one's ash, placed in a Columbarium.

lol

curious... if you don't mind sharing... how much do you need?

if its in a few K to even low 5 figures, you may be able to source from your family members and friends... close ones.

of course, only if you intend and will actually pay them back.

lol.... this is not even a marketing spin anymore.... its pretty much a pure misrepresentation...

a threshold of 1.1 is a greater flexibility than 1.0????
(yeah, it is greater... )

When this first came up, there were already some discussions (maybe here, or in the other EPF thread).
Unfortunately, even in this forum, many seemed to cheer EPF’s move to raise the threshold, with reasons like:
a) “good to cater for inflation”
b) “to thwart scammers targeting the elderly”
c) “to stop the rich from treating EPF as a liquid CASA account”

But let’s be real. Most who support it are already much older, so the new rule hardly affects them. Easy for them to clap when it’s someone else who takes the hit.

What annoys me most is how EPF (tainted by the current gov) thinks it has the moral obligation to dictate even how much the top 5% must hold their wealth inside EPF. Ridiculous. These guys don’t need baby sitting by gov.

Back to reality: regardless of what you or I think, the new threshold is coming in 2026. Best to rework your plans with this baked in… and pretty sure 2029 will see the threshold raised above 1.3M.

On my side, I should thank EPF ( and the FM who is also the PMX... a clear no no as stated by a certain someone ). Else, I wouldn't have been so decisive about slashing my Malaysia portfolio weightage. lol

Aiya... these "high flyers" in their 30s/40s already sitting on near 1M in EPF, still kena accused of "gaming the system" just to get 5–6% dividend?
Outside got plenty of investments flying double-digit returns, but somehow EPF is treated like magic goose. Collecting pennies when got durians out there. Sure, got some folks who waste lotsa time and energy suka pinch that extra 0.5 to 1% and shift small money around, but let’s be real... that’s a tiny minority.

Calling it "gaming" is misleading. EPF publishes its rules and dividend structure openly. If people optimise within those rules, that’s not gaming. It is prudent financial planning.

Imagine this:
EPF says: "Please save here, we give you fair dividend"
Members reply: "Ok"
Then suddenly… "Eh, you’re gaming the system! Quick, raise the threshold!"
… followed by "B40, please withdraw from the new Account 3 and deplete your funds further." lol.


So those impacted (mostly not the 50yo above crowd) maybe not so "high flyers" after all… more like low gliders. No wonder EPF thinks they must "protect" their balances -- like parents keeping the kid's angpow safe.

And the consequence? Many, like me, already cabut a chunk overseas. I’ve harvested more than 20 years' worth of EPF dividends this way. So actually… thank you EPF, for changing rules on an ad-hoc basis. Gave me the push I needed.

As for those who couldn't move yet (because their balances haven’t crossed the threshold), well... too bad, just “take the hit” lah and not make any noise, like some of the older than 50 crowd here said. We can all see how well-intentioned that advice is. 😉

it also depends on how old you are... if you are near 50 to 55, then sure... not much impact. above 55, no impact on old funds. above 60, either completely ignore or be very worried in case EPF pulls another smart move. lol

if too young like below 50, basically some degree of flexibility has been removed...

This post has been edited by Wedchar2912: Sep 30 2025, 11:26 AM

The key point is being old enough... Then no problem.

Haha.

Or be too rich to be not bothered, right? Lol.

This post has been edited by Wedchar2912: Oct 1 2025, 11:41 AM

I don’t think it’s about caring or not caring… it’s more about awareness and annoyance. A rule change like this means some of us just have to adjust our financial planning. Not everyone actually needs EPF for retirement.

Take me for example: I’m still way below 50, and even after heavily withdrawing over the past 2 years, I can still take out a big chunk if I want. After that, honestly, I won’t bother with EPF anymore because as a percentage of my net worth, it becomes insignificant...

So what was once a “support” to EPF during my working years (I actively encouraged my colleagues to throw extra into EPF back then)... basically comes to "nothing" in the end as for its function as a retirement fund (to me at least). That’s the irony. lol

Hah… fully agree.
Basically it just means some of us can’t rely on EPF as a truly stable retirement tool — gotta work around all the uncertainties.

If EPF can simply tweak the rules like that, then honestly, best not to put too much inside. And what counts as “too much”... really depends on the individual. I now think if one is too young, lesser than 10% is best (changed my mind from 30%)

Some here really do seem to get a kick out of others’ discomfort/struggle. Much like armchair cheerleaders shouting "suck it up" from the sidelines. Can’t be helped... public forum. Best just tune them out since they rarely add value to any serious discussion.

On the FIRE angle, that belongs in the FIRE thread. Best to post those queries there, or else mods might swoop in to moderate us from being off-topic in a EPF thread.

Back to your example of the 38-year-old with ~800K in EPF: without more details, the key takeaway is he’ll need to rethink his financial plan after this threshold saga. If EPF rules can shift so suddenly, what’s to say they won’t move something else again? For someone who may not be able to stay the course until official retirement age, topping up further might not be the smartest plan.

And let’s not ignore the elephant in the room: the very real push to raise the official retirement age to 65. If that happens, what’s stopping EPF from saying, “For consistency, withdrawals only at 65”? Not exactly a wild stretch, right?

what about at 40? hehe...

Its not just the guarantee on capital...

EPF (conventional) also have a min guaranteed div rate provided by gov of Malaysia.
plus a call like feature with participitation on equity market.... when market does well and FM allows payout of course...

put.... santa's little helper for housework...