RM27 billion paid out to EPF members

The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) has declared the strongest dividend results in the last 10 years, which is likely to encourage more self-employed workers to contribute.

The declared dividend of 6.15% for 2012 is 15 basis points higher than the 6% paid in 2011, said EPF chairman, Tan Sri Samsudin Osman.

He added it is also a new record that RM27.45 billion to be paid out to EPF members, up more than 12% from the previous year, Bernama reported.

“EPF recorded the highest gross investment income of RM31.02bil in 2012, an increase of 13.91% compared to 2011,” he said.

Samsudin said despite an increasingly complex investment environment, the EPF’s success has been supported by long-term investment strategies and disciplined and prudent approaches.

The success is also likely to prompt more self-employed Malaysian workers to participate in the fund, analysts believe.

Alliance Research chief economist Manokaran Mottain said despite the positive impact for future participation, the high dividend also gives a “feel-good” sentiment for the economy, The Star reported.

Dr Yeah Kim Leng, RAM Holdings Bhd group chief economist, said the results are “good news” for contributors.

“It is… reflective of the economic performance of the country despite the challenging external environment,” he said.

Yeah said because the dividend was almost double the fixed deposit rates and higher than the average inflation of around 1.7%, this represented a boost for contributors' retirement savings.