2013 study by the
Employees Provident Fund which discovered that 69% of contributors aged 54 have a mere RM50,000 or less in their
retirement fund.
With such a big amount set
aside for their retirement, even if they live on the minimum spending level or
poverty line, the money will only last five years at the most, and this does
not take into account the rising cost of living annually and inflationary
pressures.
Besides this, there are the findings of the United Nations
Development Programme’s Malaysian Human Development Report (also published in
2013) which states that 57% of Malaysians have no financial investments and almost 90% have
no liquid savings.
To compound matters, Malaysians are living longer and
healthier now. But how are they to manage retirement if they have so
little set aside for their old age?
This really is tantamount to a form of modern
day slavery where more and more Malaysians are forced to work to make ends
meet, probably until the day they die. It’s a frightening spectre for a nation
aiming to become a high income country in 2020.
Retirement planning sessions and lessons or educational
awareness of aging should be taught to youths by government organisations and
agencies so that the next generation will be better prepared for retirement.
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