The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) has suggested that workers be given the option to withdraw Employees Provident Funds (EPF) contributions at age 55 or 60.

Its secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng said since the issue was highlighted, Cuepacs received feedback from the implementing group that they disagreed EPF contributions be withdrawn only at age 60.

She said the withdrawal of EPF at age 60 must be studied and scrutinised first before it was officially implemented.

“We need to look at three categories of workers, namely, high income earners, moderate and low. Normally, moderate and low income earners need money to settle debts and loans before retiring. Some use the money for their retirement to pay for their children’s education,” she said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today.

Lok was comenting on the anxiety of EPF contributors on the age limit for withdrawing contributions which now could be made at age 55, following the tabling of a Minimum Retirement Bill 2012 for first reading in Parliament last Wednesday which stipulated that the minimum retirement age for private sector employee be extended to age 60 with effect from January next year.

On June 18, Human Resource Minister Dr S Subramaniam said the government had not decided on the age limit for taking out the EPF contributions after allowing the extension of the retirement age limit for private sector employees to 60.

He urged EPF contributors not to be influenced by allegations that withdrawals could only be made after they reached the age of 60.

According to the bill, employers could not force workers to retire before reaching 60 years and they could be fined up to RM10,000 if they did so.

- Bernama