By The Pulseline News Desk
The Government is exploring plans to expand the benefits available to private sector employees through the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), including the introduction of a contributory pension scheme, medical insurance and housing projects.
Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe has said discussions were underway to transform the EPF from a fund that primarily provides retirement lump-sum payments into a broader social security mechanism for private sector workers.
He has said the objective was to ensure that employees could access additional benefits during their working lives and after retirement, while safeguarding the financial assets of the fund.
Samarasinghe has pointed out that, unlike the Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF), which employees can withdraw every five years, EPF benefits are generally accessible only upon retirement, at the age of 50 for women and 55 for men.
“Even though the Employees’ Trust Fund is drawn every five years, the Employees’ Provident Fund can only be taken at age 50 for women and age 55 for men, once they retire. But this shouldn’t be limited merely to retirement,” he has said.
The Minister has said the EPF, together with the 3% contribution to the ETF, represented a substantial pool of employee savings, with the EPF itself holding assets worth more than Rs. 6,000 billion, making it the country’s largest single fund.
He has acknowledged that the EPF had previously been associated with concerns over state borrowing, mismanagement, stock market losses and Treasury bond controversies.
However, he has assured workers that the present Government would protect the fund’s assets and seek to improve returns while ensuring that members received greater benefits.
One of the proposals under discussion is a contributory pension scheme for private sector employees, drawing on the concept of pension benefits available to public sector workers.
“If a pension can be extended to private sector workers through a contributory pension model while safeguarding the assets of the Employees’ Provident Fund, we are actively engaged in discussions to secure that pension,” he has said.
The Government is also looking at the difficulties faced by workers in sectors where retirement benefits remain relatively limited. Samarasinghe has specifically referred to the cooperative sector, which employs more than 20,000 workers, as an area requiring attention.
The proposed expansion of benefits could also include medical insurance and housing-related assistance, although details of the schemes, their financing arrangements and eligibility criteria have yet to be announced.
The proposals come amid longstanding discussions about strengthening social protection for private sector employees, many of whom do not enjoy the pension entitlements available to public sector workers.
Samarasinghe has urged EPF members not to panic over changes to the fund’s management, assuring them that the Government was proceeding with an understanding of its responsibilities towards employees and their retirement savings.
Any expansion of EPF benefits, however, will depend on ensuring the fund’s long-term financial sustainability, protecting members’ accumulated contributions and maintaining transparency in investment and management decisions.
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