Address issue of retirement savings in TN50 - Khairy Jamaluddin

Malaysians have to address the issue of retirement savings in preparing for growing old in a sustainable way in National Transformation 2050 (TN50), said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said it was worrying when a report highlighted that about 68 per cent of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members had savings of less than RM50,000.

"Assuming that the members spend RM800 per month, RM50,000 in savings would only last for five years. How will they live for the next 30 to 35 years? How to cover the cost of retirement? We have to start thinking about how we prepare for retirement," he said.

"We want to make sure that Malaysians retire happily. They have a good quality of life, not only financially but also good healthcare," he said at the TN50 dialogue in conjunction with EPF Management Conference 2017, here today.

Khairy added that the government spent about RM40 billion a year to cover pension in the government sector.

"The figure will increase as more retirees are expected to live longer. This will contribute to bigger operating expenditure for government... Therefore, we need to address the issue of retirement savings plan," he said.

In addition, Khairy also urged Malaysians to look after the health situation in ensuring a healthy lifestyle, especially after retirement. -- Bernama