EPF deduction: 'Up to husbands to determine if they wish to contribute'

PETALING JAYA: It will ultimately be up to husbands to determine if they wish to contribute 2% of their 11% statutory Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contribution to their non-working spouses, according to the Finance Ministry.
In a statement today, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng (pix) said the scheme, which was expected to start this year, would be on a voluntary basis.
"It would transfer two percentage points of the husband's existing EPF contribution to the wife's EPF account. This contribution would be topped up with an RM50 contribution from the government.
"I believe this is not burdensome for the husband as it does not reduce the take-home pay. Furthermore, the scheme would create more equitable family relations between spouses while providing a wider safety net for the family institution," he said.
Lim said the Women and Family Development Ministry – that proposed the scheme – and EPF, would prepare a cabinet memorandum in the near future, detailing out the new scheme including its estimated cost.
The EPF contribution for housewives is one of the pledges made by Pakatan Harapan in its election manifesto.
"The Finance Ministry fully supports the initiative to introduce a new EPF scheme for housewives, as proposed by the Women and Family Development Ministry led by (its minister) Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
"This policy is in line with Pakatan Harapan's manifesto to increase social security among women who depend on their husbands for income," Lim said.
Lim added that at present, the EPF also runs a separate voluntary retirement savings programme for the self-employed and for those without any regular income.
"Participants receive a government contribution of 15% on the amount put in by savers, subject to an RM250 yearly limit. According to the EPF, 90,599 participants that among them were housewives contributed a total of RM525 million in 2017," he added.
Wan Azizah, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, had previously said 2% would be deducted from the husbands' salary, before later clarifying that the deduction would be made on the present 11% contribution after certain quarters voiced concern that the husbands' salary would be further slashed.