Man Shares How He Managed To Save RM1 Million In His EPF Account By The Age Of 45
He would be able to live on RM4,500 a month just from dividends alone.
By May Vin Ang — 08 Mar 2024, 06:02 PM
A Malaysian man has taken to social media to share how a friend of his managed to save RM1 million in his Employees Provident Fund (EPF) account by the age of 45
The RM1 million target is EPF's recommended savings amount for Malaysians to retire comfortably by the age of 55.
In an encouraging Facebook post, Nur Fadhli Bassar said that the amount is possible for everyday Malaysians to achieve.
"It's true that there are ordinary people with RM1 million savings in their EPF account.
"Look at this statement belonging to a father in my circle of friends. He's 45 and working in the IT field in Kuala Lumpur," he shared.
Nur Fadhli said his friend is no different from the average person, having started work at the age of 23. He also had to withdraw some money from his EPF Account 2 to purchase a house.
"How did he collect RM1 million in his EPF, you wonder? From what he told me, everyone can do it," he opined.
Nur Fadhli shared five tips that he learned from his friend, with the first being the most important and obvious: have a stable job with a sufficient salary.
Next, he said his friend made steady contributions to EPF, and even increased his monthly employee contributions from the mandatory 11% to 13%.
"Third, he didn't touch his EPF money if he didn't have to. Remember how many people were affected during the Movement Control Order? He was steady and had enough emergency savings [to not withdraw from his EPF account]," he said.
The Facebook user shared that his friend was also a hard worker, having sought opportunities to increase his salary by job hopping
"Fourth, he increased his EPF contributions by increasing his salary. He has changed jobs eight times, asking for a higher salary from the new employer each time," he said.
Lastly, despite concentrating on his savings, he added that his friend never failed to pay zakat, a mandatory donation made by Muslims that goes to charity, as a testimony to his faith and that his blessings would return twofold.
The man added that the purpose of him writing the Facebook post is to encourage others to save consistently and be disciplined in order to become millionaires
"Think about it, EPF gave 5.4% dividends [for syariah accounts] in 2023, which means he received about RM54,154 in dividends last year.
"If he retires right now, this means he would have about RM4,512 to spend a month from dividends alone, without even touching his principal savings," he posited.
He added that if his friend continues to work and retires by the age of 60, he could accumulate over RM2 million in his EPF account and possibly live on a pension of RM10,000 a month.
"There are many silent millionaires like him, but they stay humble and keep a low profile. We should emulate their spirit.
"If you haven't started saving, set your intentions and start trying today," he advised his readers.
