Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors may choose to have a Syariah Compliance KWSP-i account when the amendments to the Employees Provident Fund Act 1991 are passed in Dewan Rakyat in the current parliament session. The new account will be managed and invested according to Syariah principles.
The amendments to the EPF Act 1991, will also provide for the establishment of a Syariah Advisory Committee and an Investment Panel to ensure Syariah compliance.
With the creation of the KWSP-i account, Section 27 of the Act will be amended to enable two dividend rates to be announced for EPF contributors, each for Normal & Syariah compliance account.
In-line with Syariah principles, the dividend for the KWSP-i account will be declared at any rate, by the Board depending on the actual performance of the investment made. For the normal account, the dividend rate will be retained to be not less than 2.5% per year
The other amendment includes.
- Section 45 will make an employer who has failed to make monthly EPF contributions on employees’ behalf responsible for paying the dividend on employees’ contributions at a rate determined by the EPF.
- To introduce a new definition of “loan” to include financing in accordance with syariah.
- To introduce a new section to provide that any contribution that has been credited into the account of a member after he or she has attained the age of 55 may only be withdrawn when the member turns 60.
- To introduce a new section which states that no dividend shall be credited into the account of a member who is not a Malaysian if no contribution has been credited into his or her account over a period of three years.