For years I have been publishing articles to impress onto you the importance of saving for your retirement, i.e. Save Now For Retirement and not Spend Now Earn Later [which I don’t understand why BNM approves the many Pay Now Earn Later plans for eWallets (Grab Pay, Boost etc), credit cards (0% installment plans) and including Shopee & Lazada too! We all now for a fact that only those who are broke utilizes Pay Now Earn Later and thus ends up deeper into the endless spiraling bottomless shit hole of debt!
Below are my previous article related to EPF:
LIFE – GOAL IS TO BE DEBT FREE Dec 2015)
Back in 2015, I already mentioned that you will need at least RM1M for your retirement especially if you are a GenZ.
EPF and Average Salary of Graduates in Malaysia (March 2018)
In the above article, I showed you all that is you graduate with the right degree, you will have more than RM1M in your EPF when you retire (of course with condition you do not withdraw money from your EPF before you retire).
The EPF Target Is Now RM1M! (September 2022) Password: ILoveGenXYZ
In respect to the above, back in 2022 EPF already said one needs RM1M for retirement! Not I said but EPF!
LIFE – The GOAL IS Still TO BE DEBT FREE (New Version May 2024)
In the article mentioned above once again I highlighted EPF compounding effect on your savings.
In the recent past years, the government has been allowing Self-Contribution and recently increased it to maximum RM100K per year in addition to Statutory Contribution which is fantastic. And in 2025 Budget, the government is once again giving FREE Money to Self-Emploed people who Self-Contribute to EPF. In respect to this paragraph, I published the article below:
FREE Money From The Rakyat To Your EPF Account
We salarymen under the law is required to contribute towards our EPF Savings Accounts. Therefore we wake up on working days and go to work and end of the month pay part of our salary to EPF……… until one day suddenly we no longer need to work as the annual EPF dividends are enough for us to enjoy life comfortably. And based on the subject mentioned in this paragraph, I published the article below:
In the above mentioned article, I touched on several matters related to EPF such as you will have more than RM1M, you should perform Self-Contribution and WHAT YOU MUST NOT TO WITH YOUR EPF MONEY when you retire (which is very common because people are just plain greedy).
Then couple days ago I published another article on EPF Voluntary Excess because now we have EPF Account 3 which we can withdraw anytime!!! Click the link below to read it:
Then today all the major news outlets in Malaysia has an article on EPF Belalanjawanku 2024/2025 new retirement guide and savings for retirement.
Here is the link to Malay Mail on Belanjawanku 2024/2025 titled EPF rolls out new retirement guide and savings plan to help Malaysians prepare for the future.
In respect to the above article in the Malay Mail Online, below are parts of it:
The RIA (Retirement Income Adequacy) Framework, launching in January 2026, will help EPF members set retirement savings goals based on their desired lifestyle. The framework features a three-tier system to guide members in planning their savings and retirement income:
For example, according to the Belanjawanku 2024/2025 guide, a single person needs around RM2,690 per month to cover basic living expenses in retirement. Based on this figure, the new savings targets under the RIA Framework are:
• Adequate Savings: RM650,000 (240 times the Adequate Retirement Income)
• Basic Savings: RM390,000 (60 per cent of Adequate Savings)
• Enhanced Savings: RM1.3 million (double the Adequate Savings)
The framework is designed to allow members to withdraw from their savings over 20 years — Malaysia’s average life expectancy. For example, with RM650,000 in savings, members can withdraw RM2,708 per month in the first year, which will grow to RM7,389 by the 20th year. For those with RM1.3 million in savings, monthly withdrawals start at RM5,417, increasing to RM14,779 by year 20.
So just like what I have been telling you guys for years, we need more than RM1M in our EPF by the time we retire so that we can have a comfortable life. Because of inflation, we will need more money monthly to survive in 20 years time – and from the above, EPF estimated we may need RM14,779 per month in 20 ears time!
Now, now, please note the above example was for a SINGLE PERSON, therefore when we are talking about a couple, they will need much more. But then again nowadays both husband and wife are working so they would have they own Savings which is good because nowadays divorce is also very common plus we never know the future. And one of the fact I shown in one of my articles above is that there are MORE WOMEN GRADUATE THAN MAN and therefore don’t be surprise in 10 years time we have more women having more money in EPF compared to men….. well actually it is happening today where recently in was reported in the news that a super smart lady (who is an Engineer like me) has close to RM2M in her EPF and she is only in her mid 30s!!!
If you have not read my previous article on EPF where I gave the links at the start of this article, you should because you are sure to learn a thing or two and one and if you listen to me, when shit happens you won’t be stressed (in this case financially).
Another very important thing to note is that EPF is assuming you live another 20 years only. As I have shown you all many many moons ago, the average lifespan of Malaysians is about 75 years old. But today with improved healthcare and new medicine plus techniques using laser instead of open cut, the lifespan of most people are extended to close to 100 years old! And you all know that insurance policies today covers us up to 100 years old from 70 or 80 years old previously. SO WHAT THIS MEANS IS – you need more than RM1M in your EPF Savings Account before you retire!
Once again Bros and Sis, whatever you save today will go a long way in your golden years and you only have yourself to be blamed if you burn your hard earn money today on non-essential and non-durable good, e.g. Apple iPhone with 0% Installment Plan, Overseas Holidays (Singapore and Thailand are no longer cheap as our currency is damn weak), bubble teas, Starbucks, buying air miles (yes I know many people who have no savings but wasting their hard earn money on buying air miles with their credit cards just to show off they are flying BIZ Class in their social media posts – 1st Class different story, haha), on a car and etc.
I tell you, once you have net-worth of above RM1M, then you can start splurging a bit on non-essential and non-durable goods. In other words as long as your housing loan and car loan is not settled in full, you are in debt! Get this in your head!
Having said the above, if you have the opportunity to purchase a Stainless Steel Sports Rolex watch at Official Retail Price, by all means get it because it will appreciate with time and it is as good as cash and you get to enjoy wearing it. Once again, if you have read my article on Rolex, you will know that NOT ALL ROLEX watches appreciate with time and if you consider inflation where you can only sell the watch at the price you bought then you are losing the opportunity to earn more by simply parking your money in EPF (via Voluntary Excess or Self-Contribution)!
As for you young people, all of you reading this are educated and should have a pretty good salary, you should also be saving for your child’s education fees now because the moment your child is born, you have minimum 16 years to plan and if you have no money (not other reasons) to provide a reasonable good tertiary education for your child you have only yourself to be blamed.
As for me, I am enjoying life today as all my children have graduated and I can suka-suka burn my EPF Dividends and that’s why you can read that I just went to South America recently…. FREE Money from EPF……. just like my article on stages of life – Sleep, Eat, Shit, Enjoy Life and Get Paid 🙂
GenX GenY GenZ 