100,000 Malaysians Bankrupt? And Most of Us Still Don’t Have Enough EPF Savings

100,000 Malaysians Bankrupt? And Most of Us Still Don’t Have Enough EPF Savings

I wrote the original article back in 2019.

The headline then was quite scary:

100k bankrupt Malaysians. 70% has less than RM50k in EPF.

At that time, Malaysia had recorded more than 100,000 bankruptcy cases between 2013 and 2017, while an EPF-related figure suggested that about two-thirds of contributors aged 54 had no more than RM50,000 in their EPF accounts.

I remember looking at those numbers and thinking:

This is not just a bankruptcy problem.

This is a retirement problem.

Seven years later, I think the issue is still relevant.

But the numbers have changed.

And some of the newer numbers are actually more worrying.

#1 – 100,000 bankrupt Malaysians is no longer just an old headline

Let’s start with the bankruptcy part.

Malaysia recorded 6,776 new bankruptcy cases in 2025, compared with 5,977 in 2024.

And the cumulative number of bankruptcy cases has now crossed 100,000. (bernama.com)

But there is another number that caught my attention.

From 2021 to March 2026, Malaysia recorded 31,517 bankruptcy cases.

Of these, 14,582 cases, or 46%, were attributed to personal loans.

And 4,704 cases involved people aged 34 and below. (bernama.com)

So perhaps the question is no longer:

“Why are Malaysians going bankrupt?”

Perhaps the question should be:

“Why are so many Malaysians taking on financial commitments that their future income cannot comfortably support?”

That is a much bigger question.

Malaysia’s recent bankruptcy numbers

Year	New bankruptcy cases
2020	8,351
2021	6,554
2022	5,695
2023	4,810
2024	5,977
2025	6,776

Source: Malaysia Department of Insolvency and Malaysian official statistics. (dewan.selangor.gov.my; mdi.gov.my)

The numbers went down for several years.

But they have started going up again.

And personal loans are a major part of the story.

#2 – But the EPF numbers are the part that really worries me

Now let’s talk about EPF. Because bankruptcy is a financial crisis.

Retirement inadequacy is a slow-moving financial crisis.

It doesn’t make the news as dramatically. Nobody wakes up one morning and says:

“Today I have become financially unprepared for retirement.”

It happens quietly.

RM10,000 withdrawn here. RM20,000 used for a renovation there. RM30,000 taken out for an emergency.

Then we change jobs. Then we have children. (Yes, maybe this is the reason why people do not want to have babies?)

Then we buy a car. Then we buy a house. (potentially a trap if we did not know what we were buying…)

And suddenly we are 50. We look at our EPF balance and say:

“Eh, why so little?”

The latest EPF numbers are quite revealing.

As at the end of 2025, the median EPF savings for members below 55 was only RM17,899.

The average was RM70,916. (kwsp.gov.my)

Notice the huge difference.

Average:

RM70,916

Median:

RM17,899

This is why I always prefer looking at the median. A few people with very large balances can pull the average upwards.

The median tells us what the person in the middle looks like. And the person in the middle does not have RM70,000.

He or she has less than RM18,000. That should make us stop for a moment.

#3 – What happens when we get older?

Let’s look at the EPF figures by age.

At age 45–49, the median savings was RM46,880.

At 50–54, it was RM48,311.

Then something really interesting happens.

For members aged 55–59, the median was only RM11,919.

For those aged 60–64, it was RM9,108.

And for members aged 65 and above, the median was just RM2,700. (kwsp.gov.my)

Of course, these numbers include different groups of members, including people who may have withdrawn or may no longer be actively contributing.

So we should not simply conclude: “All Malaysians aged 65 only have RM2,700.”

That would be wrong. But the data does tell us something important:

EPF balances are not automatically large just because we have worked for 30 or 40 years.

There are leakages.

There are withdrawals.

There are career breaks.

There are low salaries maybe at the start, maybe in between jobs.

There are periods of unemployment.

And there are financial emergencies.

#4 – RM50,000 sounds like a lot until we divide it

This was the calculation I made in my original article.

Let’s do it again.

Suppose you retire with:

RM50,000.

Sounds okay.

But divide RM50,000 over 10 years.

That’s:

RM5,000 a year.

Or:

RM417 a month.

Ten years. Not 20. Not 25. Just 10 years.

And that’s assuming there is no inflation and no investment return.

What if you live another 20 years?

RM50,000 divided by 20 years is only:

RM208 a month.

That’s why I said in 2019 that RM50,000 was nowhere near enough.

Today, EPF’s own retirement framework makes that point even more clearly.

From 2026, EPF’s new benchmarks at age 60 are:

RM390,000 – Basic Savings

RM650,000 – Adequate Savings

RM1.3 million – Enhanced Savings

EPF estimates that RM390,000 translates into about RM1,625 a month in the first year of retirement under its framework. RM650,000 corresponds to about RM2,708, while RM1.3 million corresponds to about RM5,417. (kwsp.gov.my)

Suddenly, my old RM50,000 example looks even scarier.

#5 – The house you live in matters more than we think

This is where I bring property into the discussion.

And this is also why I have always believed that owning our own home is an important part of retirement planning.

Imagine two retirees.

Person A

Owns a fully paid apartment.

No monthly rental.

Person B

Has RM2,000 monthly rental to pay.

That’s:

RM24,000 a year.

Over 10 years:

RM240,000.

Over 20 years:

RM480,000.

And that’s before rent increases.

When we talk about retirement, housing becomes a very important part of the calculation.

Because the question isn’t just:

“How much money do I have?”

It is:

“How much money do I need every month?”

If the home is fully paid, the amount needed can be significantly lower.

That is one reason I have always looked at property as more than just an investment.

A home can provide FINANCIAL security.

And that can be extremely valuable when our salary stops.

#6 – Bankruptcy and retirement are actually connected

At first, these two topics look completely different. Bankruptcy is about debt. EPF is about retirement.

But I think they are connected by one thing:

Financial management.

If we continuously spend more than we earn, debt increases.

If we use our retirement savings to solve today’s financial problems, future retirement savings decrease.

So we can end up with:

More debt today + less savings tomorrow.

That’s not a good combination.

And this is why I was happy to see that financial literacy is getting more attention.

AKPK’s Debt Management Programme approved more than 112,000 cases between 2023 and 2024, including 60,155 individual cases in 2024. The programme facilitated about RM3.2 billion in debt repayments during those two years. (bernama.com)

Think about that.

More than 100,000 people sought structured help with their debt.

That’s not necessarily bad news. In fact, I see it as a positive sign. It means people are looking for help before things become even worse.

#7 – We need to stop thinking that retirement is something for “old people”

This is probably my biggest message. If you are 25, retirement seems ridiculously far away.

If you are 35, you think: “Later lah.”

At 45: “I still have 15 or 20 years.”

At 55: “Aiyoh, why didn’t I start earlier?”

The mathematics of compounding rewards time.

EPF’s new savings benchmarks actually show how much the target increases as we approach retirement.

For example, under the new framework, the Basic Savings benchmark is:

• Age 30: RM38,000
• Age 40: RM107,000
• Age 50: RM217,000
• Age 55: RM294,000
• Age 60: RM390,000. (kwsp.gov.my)

The earlier we start, the easier the journey can be.

Not easy. Just easier.

#8 – Don’t try to get rich quickly

This is something I wrote in the original article and I still want to repeat it. This isn’t about:

“How do I make RM1 million in one year?”

No.

That’s not financial planning. That’s gambling, speculation or, sometimes, something worse.

For me, building wealth has always been about several things working together.

Earn. Save. Invest. Own assets.

Invest.

Own assets.

Avoid unnecessary debt.

Protect what we have.

And do it for a long time, consistently.

I don’t believe there is one magic investment. Diversification matters.

SO, what should we do?

If I could go back and speak to my younger self, I would say:

Don’t wait until 50.

Don’t wait until the company gives you a retirement seminar.

Don’t wait until EPF tells you that your savings are insufficient.

Start calculating now.

Take your current EPF balance.

Add your monthly contribution.

Estimate your investment return.

Then ask:

“How much will I have at 55?”

Then:

“How much will I have at 60?”

Then the most important question:

“How much can I actually spend every month?”

That last question changes everything.

Because RM1 million sounds fantastic.

But RM1 million divided over 20 years is only RM4,167 per month before considering investment returns, inflation and major expenses.

And RM50,000?

That’s only RM208 per month over 20 years.

Suddenly the numbers become real.

And this is why I think the original headline still deserves a refresh.

Yes, Malaysia has now crossed 100,000 bankruptcy cases in cumulative terms.

Yes, thousands more people are still being declared bankrupt each year.

But the bigger lesson for me isn’t about bankruptcy.

It is about financial resilience.

And the good news?

If we are still working today, we still have time to do something about it.

Start small.

Save consistently.

Invest wisely.

Avoid unnecessary debt.

Build assets.

And please, don’t spend everything today because we think tomorrow will somehow take care of itself.

Tomorrow usually doesn’t.

We have to take care of tomorrow ourselves.

Happy understanding.

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Sources

• Malaysia Department of Insolvency — Bankruptcy Statistics — official bankruptcy statistics. 
• Bernama — Over 31,000 Bankruptcy Cases Recorded Since 2021 — 31,517 cases from 2021 to March 2026 and the 46% personal-loan figure. 
• EPF — Retirement Income Adequacy Framework — current Basic, Adequate and Enhanced retirement-savings benchmarks. 
• EPF — 2025 Dividend and Member Savings Data — latest EPF savings by age, including median balances. 
• Bernama — AKPK Debt Management Programme — more than 112,000 cases approved during 2023–2024. 
• Bernama — Second Chance Fast Track Policy — recent government measures to help eligible bankrupt individuals obtain discharge and rebuild their lives. 
• Original Kopiandproperty article — “100k bankrupt Malaysians. 70% has less than RM50k in EPF.” — the original 2019 article and the starting point for this refresh.