KUALA LUMPUR: The registration of new Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members has increased by 57 per cent to 146,000 members in the first quarter of 2022, said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

He said this was in line with EPF's efforts to embark on a long-term strategy to expand the social protection coverage of Malaysians in an effort to strengthen the government-linked companies (GLC) support ecosystem.

"Currently, although various social protection initiatives have been introduced and some have received government funding, the average awareness of the importance of social protection and preparing for old age is still too low among a large number of Malaysians," he said at the EPF Insurance and Takaful i-Lindung facility launch ceremony here today.

Tengku Zafrul said one of the most important aspects was the strengthening of social protection and this responsibility was given to the EPF when the government started implementing the GLC Transformation Programme.

He said the programme was to drive the recovery and reconstruction of the country's post-pandemic economy through the GLC and government-linked investment companies (GLICs) ecosystem.

On the i-Lindung platform, he said it could help EPF members get protection in the face of unforeseen and beyond control situations that could happen to anyone at any time.

"This is an important starting point to protect Malaysians and their families from the risk of death, total disability and chronic diseases," he said.

Meanwhile, EPF chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir is confident that the i-Lindung facility will be able to help realise the country's aspiration to achieve an insurance penetration rate of more than 70 per cent, besides helping members get insurance and takaful coverage.

"The i-Lindung facility is available at a minimum rate of RM30 per year with protection of RM10,000 and can be deducted from the second account," he said.

He also said the EPF was targeting 300,000 people for the i-Lindung platform for the first year. This i-Lindung platform is under the Members Protection Plan to facilitate the purchase of insurance and takaful products that include life and critical illness coverage at an affordable premium from Account 2.

This offer of protection to EPF members is effective immediately.

-- BERNAMA