EPF Accounts and Withdrawals Guide 2026
How much you and your employer pay into EPF, how the accounts and yearly dividend work, and what KWSP lets you withdraw, with worked examples.
Updated
EPF (KWSP) is the compulsory retirement fund for private-sector employees. Each month part of your wages goes in from you and part from your employer. This guide shows how much, which account it lands in, how the yearly dividend works and when you can take money out. The rates are the ones the EPF Calculator uses.
What you and your employer pay
For Malaysian citizens and permanent residents under 60:
- You pay 11% of your monthly wages.
- Your employer pays 13% if your wage is RM5,000 or less, and 12% if it is higher.
- From age 60 you pay 0% and your employer pays 4%.
- Foreign workers pay 2% each by default and can choose to pay the full 11%.
Each side is rounded up to the next ringgit. KWSP publishes the contribution schedule and the employer rules.
Example: on a wage of RM4,000 you pay RM440 and your employer pays RM520, so RM960 goes in every month. On RM6,000 you pay RM660 and your employer pays RM720, a total of RM1,380. The employer rate drops to 12% above RM5,000, which is why the employer share is not simply 13% of RM6,000.
Where the rates change
The thresholds matter at the edges. A wage of RM5,000 gives you RM550 and your employer RM650, a total of RM1,200. At RM5,100 you pay RM561 and your employer pays RM612, a total of RM1,173, because the employer rate falls from 13% to 12% once the wage passes RM5,000. A small raise can therefore leave the total going into your EPF lower than before. Keep that in mind when you compare job offers close to the line.
At 60 the picture changes again. On a RM4,000 wage you pay RM0 and your employer pays RM160. A foreign worker on RM3,000 pays RM60 and the employer pays RM60 by default.
The accounts
If you are under 55, each month's contribution is split three ways:
| Account | Share | Of the RM960 above |
|---|---|---|
| Akaun Persaraan | 75% | RM720 |
| Akaun Sejahtera | 15% | RM144 |
| Akaun Fleksibel | 10% | RM96 |
From age 55, contributions go to Akaun Emas. The Fleksibel account is the one you can draw on before retirement. The other two are meant to stay until you retire, apart from the special withdrawals listed below.
How the dividend works
KWSP declares a dividend once a year. For 2025 it was 6.15% for both Simpanan Konvensional and Simpanan Shariah, announced on 28 February 2026. The dividend is calculated on your daily balance, so money that arrives earlier in the year earns for longer.
Example: you open the year with RM50,000 and RM960 goes in each month, RM11,520 for the year. At 6.15% the dividend is RM3,372.66 and the year closes at RM64,892.66. The EPF Dividend Calculator assumes each month's contribution reaches your account by the 15th of the next month, so December's money earns nothing until the following year.
Past dividends do not promise future ones. Use a lower rate than the latest announcement when you plan.
Looking ahead to 60
Projections show why starting early matters. Say you are 30 with RM20,000 saved, a salary of RM4,000 that rises 3% a year, and a dividend of 5.5% every year until 60. The balance reaches about RM1,279,563. With inflation at 2% a year, that is worth roughly RM706,409 in today's money. Those inputs are assumptions, not forecasts. Change them in the Retirement Calculator to see how much each one matters.
Taking money out
KWSP groups withdrawals by life stage on its Financial Life Stages page. The options it lists are:
- Akaun Fleksibel withdrawals
- Education
- Age 50
- Age 55 and 60
- Hajj
- Savings above RM1 million
- i-Legasi
KWSP also covers home ownership withdrawals on their own page. Amounts, limits and conditions change, so check the KWSP page before you apply. Our calculators do not model withdrawals.
Common questions
Does EPF count my allowances and bonus? Fixed allowances are usually wages for EPF, so they raise your contribution. Check your payslip and KWSP's guidance on what your employer must include.
Is the dividend guaranteed? No. KWSP announces it each year after it closes its books, and it can go down as well as up.
Can I choose a lower rate? Employees can sometimes ask to pay less than 11%. The employer's share does not change if you do. Ask KWSP or your employer before you decide, because it lowers your savings.
Small steps that help
- Check your contributions on the KWSP i-Akaun app, so you can see that your employer's payments are arriving.
- If you are self-employed, KWSP runs the i-Saraan voluntary scheme.
- Keep your nomination up to date so your savings go to the people you choose.
Rates and examples follow our rates files. KWSP's own schedule and announcements are final.