After KWSP announced the details of its EPF account restructuring plan, many members have a question on whether members can refuse to open a third account (flexible account).
According to a message from the Employees’ Provident Fund Board (KWSP) Facebook page in response to netizens, all members under the age of 55 are required to open a third account, also known as the Flexi-Account. This also means that members cannot refuse to open a third account (Flexi-Account).
However, KWSP also disclosed that members can go to the KWSP service counter to fill out a form to transfer their deposits from the third account (Flexi Account) to the first or second account (Retirement or Wellness Account) after the restructuring plan is completed on May 11th.
Although KWSP did not specify in detail whether members only need to fill in the form once to have their deposits automatically transferred every month, or whether they need to fill in the form once a month. However, Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying revealed that members can apply for a Standing Instruction to automatically transfer deposits from the third account to the first and second accounts every month.
In addition, a netizen left a message on KWSP Facebook asking if the EPF contribution quota of 70% to 30% can be maintained, to which the KWSP Facebook administrator replied that this contribution quota cannot be maintained.
Simply put, every EPF member under the age of 55 will have 3 accounts. The first account (Retirement Account) can only be withdrawn after the age of 55, while the second account (Well-being Account) can be withdrawn before the age of 55 to pay for medical bills, school fees, home purchase, etc. The third account (Flexi Account) can be withdrawn after the age of 55 to pay for medical bills and school fees. As for the third account (flexible account), withdrawals can be made at any time.
