This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on December 15, 2017 - December 21, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Starting the third quarter of 2017 (3Q17), the total number of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members will be based on accounts with savings only, said its chief executive officer Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan. This is to present a clearer understanding of the make-up of the workforce in Malaysia, which will be reflected in the EPF Annual Report 2017.

Nevertheless, all dormant accounts will remain open for members below 75 years old in order to provide them the opportunity to re-contribute to their account for their retirement well-being.

As at Sept 30, 2017, there were 17.8 million EPF account holders, of which 13.73 million will be used from 3Q17 onwards while the remaining 4.08 million are dormant accounts. Out of the 13.73 million EPF members, 7.06 million are active and 6.67 million are non-active. In terms of the number of employers, a total of 493,229 will remain registered under the “employer” status from 3Q17 while 54,850 will be reclassified as self-employed.

Total contributions recorded in 3Q17 rose 7.87% year-on-year to RM15.9 billion, bringing the total accumulated members’ contribution to RM715.97 billion.