KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund's (EPF) move to raise the basic retirement savings benchmark to RM390,000 gives the public a sense of urgency to plan for their retirement.
Experts said despite the higher benchmark, those with basic retirement savings are still exposed to risks especially with the rise in inflation rates.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the inflation rate tends to increase by an average of 2.5 per cent, which reduces the public's purchasing power.
"The new threshold would, to some degree, give some sense of urgency that Malaysian citizens need to really plan their retirement funds. Certainly every location would have a different cost of living and by extension, the ideal size for a retirement fund.
"I think the EPF is trying to promote granularity in setting the right benchmark for having a comfortable level of funds when a person retires.
"This would also give the members a sense of urgency to build their retirement coffers by starting with being judicious whenever they plan to withdraw their money from EPF," he told Business Times.
Mohd Afzanizam said the new benchmark also alerts policy makers on ways to elevate wages that can be done through education and training.
"The government also needs to ensure that the country is competitive where the system will reward those who work hard and smart as they would bring greater productivity and profitability. The new yardstick would serve as a guidance so that the country would be able to avert the retirement crisis," he added.
According to the Retirement Income Adequacy (RIA) framework launched by the EPF on Thursday, based on current prices, a retiree at 60 will need RM390,000 to cover essential retirement needs; RM650,000 for a reasonable standard of living and RM1.3 million for greater financial security and independence for a higher quality of life.
Universiti Kuala Lumpur Business School economic analyst, Associate Professor Aimi Zulhazmi Abdul Rashid said with savings of RM650,000, a retiree would need a monthly budget of RM3,611 for an average period of 15 years after retirement.
"It should be adequate for monthly expenses but not including loan payments for mortgage and hire-purchase loans and rental payments.
"Retirees should ideally have their own house that is fully paid by the end of their working career so that they will not be burdened by the monthly payment to banks."
However, realistically many of those living and working in Klang Valley are renting and unable to buy their own houses, he added.
Rising house prices in Klang Valley being the most expensive in the country seemed to be the main obstacle.
As for those with basic savings of RM350,000, he noted that an individual will need a monthly household income of RM1,944 for the next 15 years after retirement to cover basic necessities.
"Living a low profile lifestyle may be the right positioning but still they are exposed to high risk from rising inflation rates yearly.
"Hence, the government assistance to provide living cost subsidies like fuel subsidy and others will be detrimental for their survival of living in Klang Valley," he said.