Retirement and Pension

Q1. Are Malaysian pensioners happy?

I think, no.

Q2. What are some of the things that our pensioners are not happy about?

There many terrible unhappy things said about pension.

Q3. What is our current retirement and pension like?

Retirement was at 55 years, and then at 56 years. Retirement age is 60 years for Malaysians since 2013. Monthly pension is set at 40% of last monthly pay.

If a non-medical lecturer professor earns a basic pay (gaji pokok) of RM13,383.06 a month, then 40% gives a pension of RM5,353.224 a month.

Q4. Will the pensioner make it happily in her retirement age with RM5K?

I don't know but I have a gut feeling that things are getting pricier by the day and year. By the time I reach full pensionable age in 2018, things will certainly be terribly expensive than in 2013. If I live to that age, I hope my pension is sufficient and that there are mechanisms to monitor that pensioners are well looked after. If pensioner can't have enough to live on then they will become prisoners of their own difficult lives, not of their own making.

Q5. What proposition can we think about for our retirement and pension?

I think we can consider people who work at least 30 years in government service get to keep their last monthly pay as their monthly pension once they reach pensionable age at 60 years. This will mean people must start working in the government service before age 30 in order to be considered for this scheme.

Q6. Will this proposition be feasible?

I think so, yes. Prospective workers will quickly get into a government job and work hard for 30 years before they can be considered for full pay pension. It must be 30 continuous years of government service. Government servants will tend to be loyal because they can clearly see the reward at retirement.

Q7. Do you think people will like this proposition?

I think it is a great idea to be earning a full pay during retirement.

Q8. What about pension benefits for the spouse?

Spouse can get 40% pension benefits of the government pensioner. But the marriage must be accepted in Islam and cannot be a gay marriage or common law partnership.

Q9. What about pension benefits for children?

In today's family structure, couples get married very late in life, around age 30-35. Even if they get married earlier, they don't have children till much later in life, before age 40.

At age 40, many married couples will have at least a child under age 6 years (not schooling yet).

By age 50, many parents will have a child in primary school or continuing on to secondary school.

By age 60, many parents will have a child in high school or university. If a government servant dies at this age, the child is still a student and needs financial support. So the retirement plan and pension amount must take into consideration stipend for the child/student till he/she completes a first degree that probably will make the child stand a better chance of getting a job.

If the child cannot get a job in his/her 20's or 30's, then there must be a mechanism to assist the child somewhat that sort of gives a guarantee of food, shelter and safety of the government employee's children.

Q10. Is is a waste of government revenue to maintain government pensioners?

I don't think so.

Government employees are mass workers who work 8 hours daily for 5 days a week with limited annual leave (1 month) and sick leave. They don't have a second income if they are in the A division jobs, and for which they have nothing else to depend on in their retirement.

A good retirement plan and pension scheme will certainly make us happy.