The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) recently declared a dividend rate of 5.35% for Conventional Savings and 4.75% for Syariah Savings for year 2022, with total payout amounting to RM51.14bil.¹ Whilst dividend payout for Year 2022 may be lower than 2021, it is still higher than 2020 and it still indicates positive returns in savings for contributing EPF members.

Here are top 5 things you can do to manage your EPF savings and returns for brighter retirement days:

1. Evaluate your Investment Portfolio

Market movement and volatility may be a contributing factor towards the performance of your investment portfolio. Evaluate and re-balance your investments at least once every six months to ensure you are meeting your financial goals and objectives.

2. Top up your EPF Savings on a Voluntary Basis

It is said that RM145.5bn was withdrawn from members’ accounts to aid the hardships of Covid-19 pandemic², which caused a drop in median savings. In the recent re-tabling of Budget 2023, the Malaysian government has made minor amendment to the current income tax relief that will allow Malaysians to claim tax reliefs for EPF self-contribution. This will allow EPF members to enjoy tax relief of up to RM4,000 for statutory EPF contributions.³

3. Re-investing a Portion of your EPF savings into Global, Regional and Domestic funds

Another possibility is to re-invest a portion of your EPF savings via EPF’s I-Invest. By investing with Principal through this method, you will have diversification opportunities with over 20 EPF-approved Global, Regional and Domestic funds with various asset classes.

4. Explore Alternative Investment Options

Understand your time horizon, risk tolerance and investment goals before choosing. For example, apart from voluntary EPF contribution and diversification of EPF savings via i-Invest, you can also look at investing in Private Retirement Scheme Fund (PRS). You can also enjoy up to RM3,000 tax rebate on PRS contributions until 2025.

5. Review your Retirement Plans

Your retirement plans will determine how much you will need in savings and investments. The general rule of thumb is to review and rebalance at least once every 6 months or once every quarter. Here are 4 scenarios you can consider before rebalancing your portfolio:

• Changes in your risk profile
• Changes in situational basis i.e emergencies, market conditions
• A shift from your asset allocation strategy
• Achieving your financial goal(s)
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