EPF's three accounts, and the one you can empty

Since 11 May 2024, an EPF member under 55 has three accounts, not two. One of them can be emptied from a phone, on any day, for any reason.

Here is what changed, and the DECADES cards where a player meets the same choice.

Three accounts, not two

The EPF's media statement of 25 April 2024 and its account restructuring page give the main points:

• Account 1 became Akaun Persaraan. Account 2 became Akaun Sejahtera. The old balances stayed where they were.
• A third account, Akaun Fleksibel, started at RM0.
• Every contribution after 11 May 2024 is split three ways: 75% to Akaun Persaraan, 15% to Akaun Sejahtera and 10% to Akaun Fleksibel.
• It applies to every member who was under 55 on that date, non-Malaysians included.

What each one is for

Akaun Persaraan is the long-term account, for income after you stop work. It cannot be withdrawn before 55. Members who qualify can invest part of it through approved fund managers.

Akaun Sejahtera is for needs before retirement. Under EPF's terms, it can be withdrawn for housing, education, health, insurance or takaful protection, Hajj, and at age 50.

Akaun Fleksibel is for short-term needs. EPF's page says it can be withdrawn any time, and in the same paragraph encourages members to use it only for emergencies and immediate needs.

Taking money out of Akaun Fleksibel

The questions and answers on the restructuring page set the rules:

• You must be under 55 and have savings in the account.
• The smallest withdrawal is RM50, and you can apply once the balance reaches RM50.
• No documents are needed. You apply in the KWSP i-Akaun app, on the i-Akaun web portal or at an EPF office.
• The money goes into a bank account in your own name, not a joint or company account, within three working days of approval.
• An approved application cannot be cancelled.

Money can also move the other way, from Akaun Fleksibel into either of the other two accounts, at an EPF office. Such a move cannot be undone.

How much has gone out so far? In July 2026, the Finance Ministry told Parliament that 5.5 million members had withdrawn RM19.87 billion from the flexible account by 31 May, and that RM14.36 billion was still in it.

The one-off transfer in 2024

Between 11 May and 31 August 2024, members had a one-time choice to move part of their Akaun Sejahtera into the new account. The media statement gives the split:

• With RM3,000 or more in Akaun Sejahtera: 10/30 of it went to Akaun Fleksibel, 5/30 went to Akaun Persaraan, and 15/30 stayed.
• With RM1,000 or less: all of it went to Akaun Fleksibel.
• With more than RM1,000 but less than RM3,000: RM1,000 went across, and the rest stayed.

Members who did nothing kept their balance where it was. The restructuring page says the option has not been available since 1 September 2024.

At 55 and at 60

EPF's age 55 and 60 withdrawal page says that at 55, the savings in all three accounts are put together in one account, Akaun 55. From then on you can take all of it, take part of it, or take monthly payments through i-Emas, at any time. Monthly payments are at least RM100 a month.

If you keep working after 55, new contributions go into a separate account, Akaun Emas. That money can only be withdrawn at 60.

The same dividend in all three

The restructuring page says that, for now, the same dividend rate applies to all three accounts.

The cards in DECADES

DECADES keeps EPF much simpler than the real thing. A player has one EPF pot. In every month with a salary, an amount equal to 15% of the pay goes in. The pot stays locked until 55, and then all of it can be withdrawn. The game has no separate Akaun Fleksibel and no Akaun Emas. Once a year the pot earns a dividend of 5.5%. The real EPF declares a new rate every year, so the game's steady rate is a stand-in, not a promise.

"Touch the EPF?" can turn up from about age 22, to a player who has resigned from a job. It opens like this, word for word:

Since you resigned, a friend has a tip. Withdraw the EPF flexible account for now. An agent on Facebuku will unlock the rest for a fee.

Withdraw the flexible account, "It is allowed", and RM 2,500 moves from the EPF pot into your cash in a day. The lesson line: "Allowed is not wise." Leave it, and the gap comes from savings. Pay the agent RM 500, and most of the time he takes the money and a photo of your identity card, then vanishes. The rest of the time he files a real form you could have filed yourself. "Nobody can unlock EPF early for a fee." In real life, a flexible account withdrawal needs no documents.

"EPF unlocks at 55" comes to every player who has money in the pot, some time in the first two years after turning 55:

The letter comes. Your EPF pot is yours from today. Take a lump sum, take monthly payments, or leave it growing. Nobody will remind you again.

Monthly payments send at least RM 1,200 a month from the pot as cash until it runs out. Take it all, and "Relatives find out by Friday." Leave it, and it can be withdrawn from the game's Bank screen in any month. These are close to the real choices at 55, without the option to take only part of it.

"Move it before you lose it" can turn up from about age 56:

A polished caller says he can unlock your EPF into a scheme paying more, and hints it's at risk if you wait. He wants your details.

Hang up and check the licensed lists yourself, and there is no such unlocking. Give the details, and most of the time RM 5,000 goes into a scheme that does not exist. The rest of the time you call EPF before sending anything, and keep your savings but not your peace.

The game is fiction

DECADES is a game. The friend, the agent, the caller and every number on its cards are made up, and the game's EPF follows the game's rules, not EPF's. Nothing here is advice about your own money. For anything real, go to the official pages linked above.

Play it

Get the letter at 55 in one life. Play DECADES in your browser, free and with no sign-up.

Teachers can use these cards in class with the 40-minute lesson on the teachers page.