EPF Announces 5.5% Dividend Rate For 2023, 5.4% For Syariah Savings

It is an increase from last year’s EPF dividend payout.

Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter, or Telegram and WhatsApp channels for the latest stories and updates.

The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) has declared a dividend rate of 5.5% for Conventional Savings for 2023, with a total payout of RM50.3 billion.

Meanwhile, the dividend rate for Syariah savings was 5.4% with the payout totalling RM7.5 billion.

This figure is an increase from the dividend payout of 5.35% for conventional savings and 4.75% for Syariah accounts paid out in 2022.

The dividend distribution will benefit more than 16 million EPF members.

EPF chairman Ahmad Badri Zahir said EPF can deliver improved dividends due to a resilient performance in 2023 with equities playing a significant role in driving overall performance.

Despite the intensifying geopolitical tensions, elevated interest rates, inflation, regional conflicts, and China’s property sector woes, the global economy showcased resilience and fared better than expected. This allowed EPF to actively manage its diversified portfolio and capture opportunities to enhance returns.
EPF chairman Ahmad Badri Zahir

The higher syariah dividend rate was mainly driven by investments in technology companies, especially the “magnificent seven” stocks.

Looking at the financial markets, especially in the US, the rate (of conventional and Syariah) converged because a lot of the performance was driven by the ‘magnificent seven’, which refers to the seven tech companies, including Nvidia that is driven by generative artificial intelligence.
EPF chief executive officer Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn

EPF chief executive officer Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn mentioned that most tech companies are Syariah-compliant, so there was an increase in return in the Syariah portfolio.

Additionally, Ahmad Zulqarnain said there would not be a total convergence of both portfolios as one would always be higher than the other.

What about the proposed EPF contributions for civil servants?

Ahmad Zulqarnain said the matter is still being considered and debated on whether there will be policy changes.

He said there might not be any major changes if the group becomes its members. If EPF is indeed the statutory body to manage, he said EPF doesn’t foresee major changes to how they do business.

Since the number of new civil servants joining the public sector is lower than EPF’s current members from the private sector, EPF doesn’t need to make many changes to adapt.

Share your thoughts on TRP’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.