As of September, Malaysians have withdrawn RM10.78 billion from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Account 3, as reported by the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
The account was introduced as part of a restructuring plan launched on May 11 to meet short-term financial needs.
To date, 3.86 million members under the age of 55 have accessed their funds through this initiative, representing 29.4% of the age group.
The restructuring has also adjusted the way funds are distributed.
Previously, contributions were split 70:30 between Account 1 (for retirement) and Account 2 (for flexible spending).
Now, they are split 75:15:10 across three accounts: Retirement (Account 1), Sejahtera (Account 2) and Flexible (Account 3).
This change increased contributions to the Retirement Account by RM1.2 billion between June and September.
However, by August, 33% of EPF members under the age of 55 had savings of less than RM10,000, with 88% of them being inactive contributors.
To address the problem, the EPF has launched initiatives such as i-Saraan and i-Sayang, which encouraged voluntary contributions totaling RM9.39 billion from January to August.
The EPF's total investment assets reached RM1.22 trillion by September, with a balanced strategy between domestic and foreign investments to grow members' savings.
