{"id":389913,"date":"2026-04-09T13:51:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/389913\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T13:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:51:08","slug":"trends-withdrawals-and-spending-patterns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/389913\/","title":{"rendered":"Trends, withdrawals and spending patterns"},"content":{"rendered":"

KUALA LUMPUR (April 9): Nearly five million Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members under the age of 55 have tapped into the ‘Akaun Fleksibel’ facility as of October 2025, with total withdrawals reaching RM16.6 billion, according to the pension fund\u2019s latest research report.<\/p>\n

The figure represents a 37% take-up rate among the 13.3 million eligible members, the EPF said in the report titled \u201cEnduring Today Shaping Tomorrow: Akaun Fleksibel as a Financial Lifeline for Wellbeing\u201d.<\/p>\n

While the rate indicates moderate use for short-term financial needs, the majority of members \u2014 about 63% \u2014 have yet to utilise the facility, reflecting varying financial circumstances and choices. Among non-withdrawers, 44% had sufficient balances but opted not to withdraw, while the remaining 56% were unable to do so due to insufficient savings.<\/p>\n

Launched in May 2024 as part of the EPF\u2019s restructuring exercise, Akaun Fleksibel allows members to withdraw savings at their discretion, provided the account holds sufficient funds. Contributions are allocated in the proportions of 75:15:10 into Akaun Persaraan, Akauan Sejahtera, and Akaun Fleksibel\u00a0respectively.<\/p>\n

Members could also transfer funds from Akaun Sejahtera during a one-time initial transfer period between May 11 and Aug 31, 2024, with transfer amounts based on their balances in their account. During this period, 4.1 million members transferred a total of RM14.5 billion into Akaun Fleksibel, of which 3.6 million members (88.1%) have made at least one withdrawal. The remaining 11.9% appear to have opted in as a precaution, leaving about RM2.5 billion unutilised as of October 2025.<\/p>\n

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Withdrawal trends<\/p>\n

The EPF noted that withdrawal activity stabilised after an initial surge following the facility\u2019s launch. In May 2024, 2.6 million members made withdrawals \u2014 the highest monthly figure \u2014 largely driven by the initial transfer period. This declined sharply to about one million withdrawals in June and July, before moderating further in the second half of 2024.<\/p>\n

A temporary rebound to 1.4 million withdrawals was recorded in March 2025, coinciding with the EPF dividend announcement, before stabilising at around 1.3 million monthly.<\/p>\n

Total withdrawal values mirrored this pattern, reaching RM6.01 billion in May 2024 before falling to RM1.97 billion in June and RM990 million by August. From September to December 2024, monthly withdrawals tapered to roughly RM500 million, remaining stable between RM420 million and RM530 million from January to October 2025, with a slight uptick in March.<\/p>\n

Average withdrawal amounts per member also declined, from RM2,294 in May 2024 to RM677 by September and RM402 by December, stabilising around RM330 in 2025. Median withdrawals, consistently lower, fell from RM1,063 in May 2024 to RM120 by October 2025, indicating most members withdrew modest sums. Early high-value withdrawals of RM1,000 or more became less frequent after August 2024, while smaller withdrawals below RM500 accounted for the majority.<\/p>\n

The EPF said the data suggest usage has normalised, with members shifting from one-off withdrawals to sustained, contribution-based engagement. Monthly participation has stabilised at around 10% since September 2024, reflecting more selective, need-driven use.<\/p>\n

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Withdrawal utilisation<\/p>\n

An EPF survey of 14,204 members who withdrew from Akaun Fleksibel between May 2024 and June 2025 found that most withdrawals were for essential and emergency needs. About 93% used funds for daily necessities, 81.7% for emergency-related expenses, 74.4% for debt and investment obligations, and 73.3% for seasonal or lifestyle costs.<\/p>\n

The most common expenditure was on food and daily necessities, cited by 70.3% of members, including groceries, infant formula, and diapers. Health treatments accounted for 58.7%, while debt payments represented 56.6%. Only 18.3% of members reported using funds for lifestyle purposes, indicating discretionary spending was not a primary driver.<\/p>\n

Usage patterns also varied by withdrawal frequency. High-frequency withdrawers, active in nine or more months, tended to use Akaun Fleksibel for routine and seasonal needs, such as food and commuting costs. Low-frequency withdrawers, active in one or two months, typically reserved the facility for episodic or emergency expenses, including job loss, business setbacks, entrepreneurial activities, or major home maintenance.<\/p>\n

Policy recommendations<\/p>\n

The EPF said Akaun Fleksibel has become a critical financial lifeline, helping members cover daily necessities, health expenses, and debt obligations, while supporting overall financial security and well-being.<\/p>\n

The research highlights a shift from short-term survival thinking to longer-term retirement planning. The EPF recommended integrating guidance tools into the i-Akaun app, offering personalised projections of the long-term impact of withdrawals, raising awareness of other EPF products, and expanding financial literacy programmes.<\/p>\n

The pension fund also plans to strengthen monitoring of withdrawal patterns, leverage data for targeted interventions, and link EPF data with broader social protection systems to identify and support vulnerable households.<\/p>\n

The EPF noted that addressing broader economic pressures \u2014 such as rising living costs and wage growth \u2014 is key to reducing reliance on long-term savings for immediate needs. It said policies should also aim to close gaps in the old-age income security system by ensuring a minimum guaranteed income at retirement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KUALA LUMPUR (April 9): Nearly five million Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members under the age of 55 have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389914,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[72,176,61,60,174,175],"class_list":{"0":"post-389913","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-personal-finance","13":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}