A study on 1,000 Malaysian found more than 50% not financially ready for retirement

KUALA LUMPUR: Visa and Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK), which today launched a new mobile app called Financial Insight, said its recent study revealed that more than 50% of Malaysians may not be financially ready for retirement by the time it comes.
The survey was conducted last August on 1,000 Malaysians, aged 18 to 55 years old, to help create the newly launched app.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, AKPK CEO Azaddin Ngah Tasir said although the study found that most of the respondents have set aside their monthly income for savings, one in five of them is saving less than 10% of their monthly salaries.
“People are saving, but not enough. This is because a lot of people, especially the young adults, do not think about retirement. And based on the (monthly) income that they have, there is only certain amount that they can save,” he said.
Therefore, Visa country manager for Malaysia Ng Kong Boon said both of the corporations hope that the mobile app will enable Malaysians to understand the importance of saving regularly, and be aware of the amount that they should set aside every month in order to be financially sufficient by the time they retire.
The app allows individuals to take a photo of themselves, and based on the inputs they provide, the app will tabulate their financial health and project the robustness of their financial standing with an image of the individual upon retirement. For example, a user with better financial health will look younger than one who is financially burdened at the same age.
The app also will provide tips for the users if the results indicate a poor outlook on their retirement.
Ng, who said the venture is Visa’s fifth year collaboration with AKPK to promote financial education in the country, is hoping the app to reach more than 10,000 downloads within a year of the launch.
The app is available for download for free in mid-December for both iPhone and Android users.
Meanwhile, Azaddin said since its inception in 2006 to Oct 31, 2017, AKPK has counselled over 648,295 cases, with 14,973 cases amounting to RM600.6 million settled.
He further added the agency’s statistics show that 12.8% of its debt management programme customers are below the age of 30, 70.6% between 30 to 50 years and 16.6% above 50 years old.