SHAH ALAM (March 1): Amendments to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Act 1991 to make it compulsory for foreign workers to contribute to the fund will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat next week, said its chief executive officer Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn.

The Bill, which was first announced in Budget 2025, will see around two million to 2.5 million foreign workers covered by the EPF based on early estimates, Ahmad Zulqarnain told reporters after the provident fund's 2024 results briefing here on Saturday.

“Foreign workers can currently join the EPF voluntarily, but for it to be mandatory, amendments to the Act are required,” he noted.

Ahmad Zulqarnain reiterated the proposed 2% contribution for migrant workers — 2% from the migrant worker, and 2% from the employer.

As to how the EPF’s withdrawal mechanism will apply to migrant workers, Ahmad Zulqarnain said the fund is working on the details, and will disclose them “in a couple of months”.

As at end-December 2024, the EPF had 16.2 million members in total — 14 million under conventional savings and 2.2 million under shariah savings.

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