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KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 (Bernama) — It is appropriate for the government to consider raising the rate of contribution to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for the workers, said the president of the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) Datuk Azih Muda.
He said this was to ensure that the retiring workers would have adequate savings to sustain them in view of the rising cost of living.
“If we look at it, the total (accumulated) contribution for the lower income group at the age of 55 is not even RM50,000. Will the RM50,000 be enough if one is to live for another 10 years?
“The government must consider an increase in the contribution from the employer from 13 per cent to at least 15 per cent and for the worker, the rate should be raised from 11 per cent to 12 or 13 per cent,” he told reporters after listening to a final briefing on the ‘National Solidarity Convention’, here Friday.
Yesterday, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said the government was studying a mechanism to ensure that the contributors would have adequate savings for sustenance after their retirement.
Meanwhile, Azih also pointed out that Cuepacs did not agree to the EPF’s suggestion to extend the age of withdrawal for the whole retirement savings to 60 years.
Azih, who is also the chairman of the National Solidarity Convention Committee said that 320 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) had confirmed their attendance to the convention on Sunday at the Dewan Muktamar, Pusat Islam, here.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is scheduled to open the convention.
Source: BERNAMA
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