The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) introduced two key features for its Simpanan Shariah to provide faster access and flexibility for members starting 1 April 2025, which will enable immediate registration to Simpanan Shariah for new members and monthly effective dates for all members opting in.
“With the new registration feature, new EPF members can now select Simpanan Shariah as their preferred account type during self-registration,” it said.
Previously, changes to Simpanan Shariah took effect only on 1 January of the following year. But with this enhancement, the effective date will now fall on the first day of the following month, subject to a seven-day grace period, allowing members to transition to Shariah compliance more quickly.
“This update minimises waiting periods from yearly to monthly, ensuring members’ investments are Shariah-compliant from early on. It also provides members with greater control and flexibility, making it easier to manage their retirement savings in line with their financial and Shariah-compliant savings option preferences,” it said, explaining that the decision to roll out the enhancements based on the transition period (from 25 December 2024 to 21 March 2025) is to ensure that the initiative runs smoothly.
During this time, the effective date of Simpanan Shariah for members opting in before 25 December 2024 will be on 1 January 2025.
For those who opt-in between 25 December 2024 and 24 March 2025, the effective date will be 1 April 2025 while the transition date for those who opt-in between 25-31 March 2025 will be on 1 May 2025.
Meanwhile, the effective date for members who opt-in from 1 April 2025 onwards will be the first of the month following their opt-in date, subject to a seven-day grace period.
“For example, for members who opt in on 15 April 2025, the effective date will be 1 May 2025. If members opt in on 25 April 2025, the effective date will be 1 June 2025 instead of 1 May 2025, taking into account the seven-day grace period,” EPF noted.
