The Reverse Mortgage – A Godsend Or A Millstone?

It is reported in the article, "Weighing the need for a reverse mortgage", published in StarBiz on 15 May 2021, that many retirees in Malaysia seem ill-prepared for retirement and that 54% of Employees Provident Fund contributors aged 54 have less than RM50,000 set aside for retirement.

The article further highlighted that 70% of the contributors who withdraw their EPF contributions at 55 use up their savings within a decade of their retirement.

In the same article, Datuk Chung Chee Leong, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Cagamas Berhad (the National Mortgage Corporation of Malaysia), said that Cagamas is looking to launch its reverse mortgage scheme later this year to address income insecurity for the elderly.