How to manage Malaysia’s silver tsunami

Malaysia's rapidly ageing population is a growing concern, with 8.4% of the country now aged 65 and above, and 12 states already classified as "aged states." The old-age dependency ratio has risen from 11.4 to 11.9 in just one year. The newly launched EPF i-Legasi facility, which allows older members to transfer a portion of their retirement savings to a spouse or child, is an attempt to address this issue.

However, its founder, Prof Sothi Rachagan, argues that the scheme is not enough. The RM650,000 adequate savings threshold excludes the vast majority of Malaysians, and the scheme only recognizes spouses and children as eligible recipients, leaving out childless retirees or those with siblings or extended family members as caregivers.

Sothi believes that i-Legasi needs a serious, structural review, including widening eligibility, reconsidering the threshold's rigidity, and integrating it with complementary measures for those who will never reach the savings threshold. He argues that Malaysia cannot afford to wait for policy to catch up with the demographic wave.