Under Putrajaya’s recalibration of Budget 2016, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that all Malaysian workers’ Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions will be reduced from 11% to 8% beginning March 2016 until December 2017.
The contribution rate for employers will remain the same – 12% for a monthly wage below RM5,000 and 13% for a monthly wage above RM5,000.
PM Najib Razak mentioned that the contribution cut would boost disposable income by an estimated RM8 billion, but this move evidently robs Malaysians of their future savings.
With the goods and services tax (GST) and the inevitable rising cost of living on top of this reduction of EPF contribution, Malaysians will most likely endure a very tough future.