22,000 pensioners scammed of RM850 million so far - Ahmad Maslan

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 22,000 government retirees have, so far, fallen victim to scammers, involving losses amounting to RM850 million, said Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

As such, he said the government hopes that the Retirement Fund (Incorporated) (KWAP) will continue holding the special programme to educate and raise awareness among pensioners to ensure they do not fall victim to fraudsters.

"The cooperation of various parties is also crucial to finding a sustainable and comprehensive solution to tackling this problem," he said in his speech at the renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding and the launch of an integrated system between the Public Service Department (PSD), KWAP and the Public Sector Home Financing Board (LPPSA).

Referring to the system integration, Ahmad said pensioners need not worry about paying their home financing through their pension deductions as all the data required by LPPSA is available and updated in the system.

Ahmad also reminded retirees to know the financial obligations they will face after retirement so that they can plan their finances well.

Meanwhile, LPPSA chief executive officer Mohd Farid Nawawi said the integration between PSD, KWAP and LPPSA was a new network of processes linking the three agencies.

"This integration process is done to coordinate data so that each agency has the same pension data. Also, the integration aims to improve data accuracy and minimise errors," he said.

According to him, the collaboration will also help facilitate the government's efforts to provide convenience to civil servants, in addition to improving service quality and experience for government pensioners.

-- BERNAMA