The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will begin payments today, two days early, for the special withdrawal scheme of up to RM10,000 per member.
In an online broadcast yesterday, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the payouts will begin today (18 April) instead of Wednesday as previously scheduled.
He said many people had sent messages on social media asking if the withdrawal could be made earlier.
“I hear your voice. Therefore, after discussing with the EPF, we are pleased to inform that the EPF’s special withdrawal will be credited in stages from April 18, instead of April 20, as previously announced,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul said he hoped the withdrawal would cheer up the Aidilfitri celebration and ease the burden of the people.
The special withdrawal scheme, announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob last month, allows withdrawals of up to RM10,000 each by EPF members below the age of 55.
It is the fourth – and last – in a series of withdrawals allowed from EPF members’ retirement accounts to overcome the economic hardship caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The EPF had said that 5.3 million applications, for a total withdrawal of RM40 billion, had been received up to 8pm on 15 April, just two weeks after opening for applications.
