We describe the structure of Employees Provident Funds (EPFs); EPF is the main retirement scheme for private sector employees of the four countries: Singapore, Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka. In this paper we compare the EPF plans for these four countries and describe the similarities and the differences in terms of contributions and accounts, dividends withdrawals and annuity, minimum sum, health benefits, investment and also performance. We also discuss the challenges faced by EPFs and possible ways to overcome them. The biggest challenge is due to the phenomenon of aging population, which occurs even faster in Asia than in the Western countries. EPFs are defined contribution pension schemes; thus, the increase in life expectancy brings the risk that participants could outlive their savings. Lastly we discuss the EPF framework from an ALM perspective.
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