EPF withdrawal allowed for flood victims to rebuild homes

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 23): Flood victims can withdraw their Employee Provident Fund (EPF) savings from Account 2 to purchase or rebuild their homes, said EPF in a statement.

Those who have never made the withdrawals for housing and wish to rebuild their homes destroyed by the floods, can also do so by applying with the fund, it said.

The EPF further explained that members can also withdraw to purchase or build a second house, provided the first house has been sold, or disposal of ownership of property has taken place.

According to the fund, the disposal of ownership also refers to the loss of ownership of the first house owned through previous EPF withdrawal, due to several conditions, including the destruction of the house caused by natural disaster (such as flooding, earthquake and landslide), fire, abandoned housing project or cancellation of purchase.

“To be eligible for the withdrawal to build a second home, members are required to obtain a confirmation from the local City Council, Municipal Council or head of village, that their houses, previously purchased/built under the EPF Housing Withdrawals scheme, have been destroyed in the recent flooding,” EFP added.

The EPF will assess the property and verify the amount needed to purchase/rebuild the house, and check the balance of savings that members have in their Account 2. The eligibility for withdrawal is subject to other terms and conditions, it said.

The announcement came after more than 10,000 people in the East Coast were hit by the recent flood. While the government has announced a RM500 million flood relief fund, it estimated the rebuilding efforts to cost billions or more.