Employees Provident Fund members suffering from critical illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease can now make withdrawals from Account 2.
In a statement, the EPF said it had expanded its list of critical illnesses eligible under its health withdrawal scheme from 11 to 36 effective yesterday.
EPF chief executive officer Tan Sri Azlan Zainol said the expanded list took into consideration the significant costs required to treat these critical illnesses.
It was aimed at helping members settle fully the costs of treatment and ease their financial burden.
In addition to the 36 critical illnesses, members may now make withdrawals to treat family members under the age of 16 for another three critical illnesses, namely severe asthma, leukaemia and intellectual impairment because of accident or sickness.
Under the scheme, members are allowed to withdraw from Account 2 to pay for their own and family members' medical treatment.
Family members include spouse, children, stepchildren or legally adopted children, parents, parents-in-law, step-parents or legal foster parents and siblings.
Members can also make a joint withdrawal with other family members to cover the required medical expenses, subject to available balance in Account 2 and the total cost of the treatment.
All withdrawals are subject to the validity of medical report, bills and receipts, which must not exceed one year from the date the withdrawal application is submitted.
Bills and receipts must also be in the name of the patient or applicant.
A member is not eligible to apply for the withdrawal if the illness is other than those in the EPF's approved list of critical illnesses, or the cost of medical treatment is fully covered by the respective member's employer or the employer of his or her family members.
Additionally, the scheme does not cover members receiving fertility treatments or alternative treatments such as acupuncture or traditional medication.
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