KUALA LUMPUR (June 13): Withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) new Account 3 will not impact the retirement fund’s investment strategy, said its chief executive officer (CEO) Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn.
Ahmad Zulqarnain said that EPF had projected withdrawals from Account 3 to reach RM25 billion this year, and up to RM5 billion annually from next year.
“This is actually quite manageable in terms of additional liquidity that we need to hold, because the fund size (overall investment assets) is now close to RM1.23 trillion, so it’s not an issue,” he said during a panel session at Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Sasana Symposium 2024 on Thursday.
Ahmad Zulqarnain noted that while the total withdrawals from Account 3 was anticipated, the previous withdrawals during the Covid-19 pandemic were unexpected.
“The issue with the previous withdrawals was that they were unexpected, and the portfolio was not geared towards RM145 billion being withdrawn. But this one, there is a framework and it is controlled. We can reasonably estimate, so then, the fund managers can do their thing,” he added.
Account 3 withdrawals have been made available since May 12, and as of May 27, the EPF had approved 3.04 million applications to withdraw money from the account, amounting to RM5.52 billion.
The fund also received 2.86 million applications during the period, to transfer an initial amount from Account 2 (Akaun Sejahtera) to Account 3 (Akaun Fleksibel), involving RM8.78 billion.
The new Account 3 was introduced for members under the age of 55 from May 11, for them to make withdrawals at any time and for any purpose, with a minimum withdrawal amount of RM50.
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