The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) has announced a 5.5% dividend rate for Conventional Savings 2023, with a total distribution of RM50.3 billion. In the meanwhile, RM7.5 billion was paid out at a 5.4% dividend rate for Syariah savings on it's official Facebook account.

This amount represents a rise from the dividend payments made in 2022, which were 5.35% for traditional savings accounts and 4.75% for Syariah accounts. Over 16 million EPF members will profit from the dividend distribution.

According to EPF chairman Ahmad Badri Zahir, the fund can provide higher dividends in 2023 as a result of a solid performance, with equities playing a major role in boosting total performance.

The "magnificent seven" stocks, in particular, and investments in technology businesses were the primary drivers of the greater syariah dividend rate.

Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn, the chief executive officer of EPF, stated that since the majority of ICT businesses adhere to Shariah, the return on the Syariah portfolio has increased.

Furthermore, he stated that since one portfolio will always be higher than the other, there would not be a complete convergence of the two.

He also added that the discussions regarding potential policy adjustments are still ongoing with regard to the suggested EPF contributions for civil servants.

He indicated that if the organization becomes its members, there might not be any significant changes. He noted that if EPF is the legally mandated entity in charge of managing, they don't anticipate significant changes to their current business model.

EPF doesn't need to make many adjustments to adapt because there are fewer new government servants entering the public sector than there are members currently in the private sector.