"SWRC’s Norma says the government must put in place measures to prevent old-age poverty. About 42% of our old-age population is in relative poverty and it may worsen. So, we can’t wait to improve our social protection,” she says.
Norma recommends that the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawals be tweaked, whereby a portion of the savings will be ring-fenced and only allowed for monthly withdrawals.
“We must also have a tax-funded social protection system for those who have no post-retirement savings and then for those with little savings.
“Based on our calculations, if the government pays RM500 monthly to individuals aged 70 and above, it would only amount to RM8.8bil, which is a fraction of the fuel subsidy bill,” she adds.
