A Singaporean personal financial mentor has touted Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as a “goldmine,” saying its returns are far greater than Singapore’s Central Provident Fund (CPF).
In a YouTube by Do More – Take Charge of Your Life, Loo Cheng Chuan said many Malaysians are “very ignorant” of the benefits of EPF.
“A lot of Malaysians are (unaware) that they are sitting on this huge goldmine called the EPF system.
“A lot of people in Malaysia are underestimating it as a wealth-building engine,“ he said.
The Singapore CPF system has three accounts: the Ordinary Account, the Special Account, and the Medisave Account.
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The financial mentor explained that the CPF Ordinary Account offers a return rate of only 2.5%, noting that this rate is “not enough to beat inflation,” while the Special and Medisave Accounts, which are more restrictive, allow for a return rate of 4%.
Loo then commented on EPF’s latest return rate, announced at 6.3% this year, pointing out that the last 10 to 20 years, EPF has seen returns above 5% but pointed out that the rates are subject to “fluctuations” according to the fund’s return rates whereas the Singapore government “guarantees the return rates to a large extent.”
He then pulled up EPF’s return rates since 2014, remarking that Singaporeans “would drool” over these numbers. He advised that leveraging EPF’s compounding effect makes it a top financial tool for Malaysians.
“These are insanely high return rates, and people don’t realize that if you put a dollar into your EPF and let it compound over 20 or 30 years, it could easily bring you four or five times the return,” he added.
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On the topic of Malaysians’ income versus Singaporean wages, the financial ‘guru’ pointed out that while Malaysians may earn less, EPF’s compounding power can help offset lower wages.
Loo also praised EPF’s resilience, noting that it has weathered political and financial uncertainties—from the Asian Financial Crisis and the 1MDB scandal to the Covid-19 pandemic—while still performing well.
He advised Malaysians never to underestimate the power of compounding and to maximise their EPF contributions as early as possible.
“Put as much money as possible into your EPF when you’re young. Let it compound and don’t touch it,” Loo advised.
