2012 EPF withdrawals rise to RM32.98bn

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (Bernama) -- Withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for last year, escalated to RM32.98 billion, up 10.30 per cent from the RM29.90 billion in 2011.

The EPF in its 2012 Annual Report tabled in Parliament today, showed that the top withdrawals were from the 55 age group at RM12.19 billion, followed by RM6.64 billion for Investment Withdrawal.

The report also stated that 99.95 per cent of applications for retirement withdrawals which used the "hassle free" approach were approved and credited into members' bank accounts within four days.

"Our members and employers are the reason the EPF exists. We place the highest priority on serving them professionally, ensuring their needs are met efficiently and effectively," said EPF chairman, Tan Sri Samsudin Osman in a statement.

The EPF has been steadfast in improving the customer experience, as it enhances processes and systems to make it easier and faster for members and employers to execute transactions.

Several initiatives have been undertaken by the Fund to take the customer experience to new heights that met and exceeded customer expectations.

"Members are becoming more ICT savvy. Various initiatives have been introduced to allow them to communicate with the EPF electronically and perform certain transactions online," said the Fund.

During the year, the EPF embarked on various ICT initiatives to expedite payments and integrate its processes with third parties and partners, such as government agencies and financial institutions, including banks and unit trust companies.

As a result, the EPF is now able to credit withdrawal payments directly into members' bank accounts, verify housing loan applications with the relevant banks online, receive contribution payments online, and transfer credit to fund management institutions for Investment Withdrawal.

The Fund is also able to process more than 13 million transactions to credit the annual dividend into the accounts of every member overnight, with the yield reflected in their account statements on the day the dividend rate was announced.

copy from::http://mysinchew.com