AFTER six years of being rewarded with dividends of more than 6%, the latest returns announced by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) was not well received by some members of the provident fund.

For the vast majority, the 5.7% dividend that the EPF declared for its performance in 2016 was far better than the rate they would have earned by putting the money in the bank. They have little to complain about considering that the fixed deposit rates offered by banks are less than 4.2%.

To be fair to the provident fund, providing the highest return is not its primary objective. If that was the case, the EPF could have put its money in markets and assets that gave super returns.

It could have placed some money in assets such as currency related instruments that promised fantastic returns but without any certainty of the capital being intact.

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