EPF Account 1, 2 and 3 in Malaysia: Akaun Persaraan, Sejahtera and Fleksibel Explained

Your EPF (KWSP) savings now sit in three accounts: Akaun Persaraan (the old Account 1, for retirement), Akaun Sejahtera (the old Account 2, for housing, education, health and other life needs) and Akaun Fleksibel (Account 3, which you can withdraw from at any time). Since 11 May 2024, every monthly contribution, your share and your employer's together, is split 75% to Persaraan, 15% to Sejahtera and 10% to Fleksibel.

This guide explains what each account is for, how to work out how much lands in each one from your gaji, and what happens to the accounts when you turn 55.

The three EPF accounts at a glance

KWSP restructured members' accounts from two to three on 11 May 2024. The change applies to every member, including non-Malaysians, who had not reached 55 by that date.

• Akaun Persaraan (Account 1), 75% of contributions. Retirement savings. It works the same way the old Account 1 did, and is meant to stay untouched until you reach 55.
• Akaun Sejahtera (Account 2), 15% of contributions. Pre-retirement needs. KWSP lists housing, education, health, insurance protection/takaful, Hajj and the age 50 withdrawal as the purposes this account can be used for. Each withdrawal type has its own conditions and documents.
• Akaun Fleksibel (Account 3), 10% of contributions. Short-term and emergency needs. You can withdraw at any time, with no documents and no reason needed, as long as you are below 55 and have a balance. The minimum is RM50, and you can withdraw once a day.

Balances that were in Account 1 and Account 2 on 11 May 2024 stayed where they were: Account 1 became Akaun Persaraan and Account 2 became Akaun Sejahtera. Akaun Fleksibel started at RM0 and only grows from new contributions, or from the one-time "initial amount" transfer members could opt into between 12 May and 31 August 2024. That window has closed.

How your contribution is split each month

The split is applied to the total credited to your EPF each month, not just the 11% taken from your salary. For a Malaysian below 60 on the standard rates in the site's EPF data, that total is:

• Employee: 11% of wages
• Employer: 13% if monthly wages are RM5,000 or less, 12% if above RM5,000

KWSP works out the actual ringgit amounts from the Third Schedule wage bands, which our salary calculator follows. Once you have the total, the split is simple:

1. Add the employee and employer contributions.
2. Multiply the total by 75% for Persaraan.
3. Multiply by 15% for Sejahtera.
4. Multiply by 10% for Fleksibel.

KWSP may round individual amounts slightly differently, so your i-Akaun statement can be a few sen off a hand calculation.

For more on the employee and employer rates themselves, see EPF contribution rates: employee vs employer.

Example 1: Gaji RM4,000

Nurul earns a basic salary of RM4,000 a month and is a Malaysian aged 29.

• Employee EPF (11%): RM440
• Employer EPF (13%, wages not above RM5,000): RM520
• Total credited: RM960 a month

How the RM960 is split:

• Akaun Persaraan (75%): RM720
• Akaun Sejahtera (15%): RM144
• Akaun Fleksibel (10%): RM96

Over 12 months at the same salary, before dividends, that's RM8,640 into Persaraan, RM1,728 into Sejahtera and RM1,152 into Fleksibel. Only RM96 a month is "anytime" money. The rest is locked for specific purposes or for retirement.

Example 2: Gaji RM6,500

Daniel earns RM6,500 a month, which is above the RM5,000 threshold, so his employer pays 12% instead of 13%.

• Employee EPF (11%): RM715
• Employer EPF (12%): RM780
• Total credited: RM1,495 a month

How the RM1,495 is split:

• Akaun Persaraan (75%): RM1,121.25
• Akaun Sejahtera (15%): RM224.25
• Akaun Fleksibel (10%): RM149.50

In a full year that adds up to RM13,455 in Persaraan, RM2,691 in Sejahtera and RM1,794 in Fleksibel. If Daniel is planning a house purchase, the RM2,691 a year in Sejahtera, plus whatever was already in his old Account 2, is the money the housing withdrawals draw on. Buying your first house before 30 covers those housing withdrawals.

Example 3: What withdrawing Akaun Fleksibel every year costs you

All three accounts earn the same dividend rate. KWSP declared 6.15% for 2025 for both conventional and Shariah savings. So money you leave in Fleksibel keeps compounding, and money you take out stops earning.

Take Nurul from Example 1. She gets RM1,152 a year into Fleksibel. Suppose she leaves it there for 20 years and, to keep it simple, it earns a flat 6.15% a year with each year's RM1,152 credited at year-end:

• Total paid into Fleksibel over 20 years: RM23,040
• Value after 20 years: about RM43,067

If she withdraws the full Fleksibel balance every year instead, she ends up with the RM23,040 spent and nothing left growing. The difference, about RM20,000, is the dividend she gave up. Future dividend rates aren't guaranteed, so treat this as an illustration, not a forecast. Our EPF growth calculator lets you test your own numbers. To see how KWSP actually credits dividends day by day, read how EPF dividend is calculated.

A single withdrawal costs less than you might think in year one: RM1,152 taken out at the start of a year gives up about RM70.85 of dividend at 6.15%. The cost is the compounding over the years that follow.

Moving money between accounts

You can move savings "upwards", towards retirement, but not the other way:

• Akaun Fleksibel → Akaun Sejahtera: allowed
• Akaun Fleksibel → Akaun Persaraan: allowed
• Akaun Sejahtera → Akaun Persaraan: allowed
• Akaun Persaraan → Sejahtera or Fleksibel: not allowed

Transfers can't be reversed. If you know you won't need your Fleksibel money, moving it into Persaraan removes the temptation to spend it, but you can never get it back before 55.

What happens at age 55 and 60

When you turn 55, KWSP consolidates everything in Persaraan, Sejahtera and Fleksibel into Akaun 55. From then on there is no Fleksibel account. You can take Akaun 55 as a full withdrawal, a partial withdrawal, monthly payments through i-Emas (minimum RM100 a month), or a combination.

If you keep working after 55, new contributions go into Akaun Emas, which you can withdraw from at 60. Members who were already 55 or older on 11 May 2024 were not affected by the restructuring and kept Akaun 55 and Akaun Emas.

Common mistakes

• Thinking the split applies only to your 11%. It applies to the total, your share plus your employer's. On RM4,000 that's RM96 a month into Fleksibel, not RM44.
• Assuming Fleksibel earns less. It earns the same dividend as the other two accounts. There's no interest benefit to withdrawing early.
• Treating Fleksibel as a second salary. At RM96 to RM150 a month for most earners, it's an emergency buffer. Withdrawing it every month leaves you nothing for a real emergency.
• Moving money into Persaraan on impulse. It's a one-way transfer. Check you won't need it for a house deposit or emergency first.
• Expecting Fleksibel after 55. At 55 all three accounts are merged into Akaun 55.
• Falling for "special withdrawal" messages. Fleksibel withdrawals are made through the KWSP i-Akaun app, the i-Akaun web portal or an EPF office. Ignore messages offering other ways to get your money out.

Quick checklist

1. Find your monthly EPF total on your payslip (employee + employer).
2. Multiply by 75%, 15% and 10% to see where it goes.
3. Compare with the account balances in KWSP i-Akaun.
4. Decide whether your Fleksibel balance is an emergency fund, house money (move to Sejahtera) or retirement money (move to Persaraan).
5. Check the yearly dividend on your statement to confirm all three accounts were credited.