Malaysia SOCSO (PERKESO) & EIS Contributions Explained
Every private-sector employee in Malaysia has two separate deductions taken by PERKESO (the Social Security Organisation): SOCSO and EIS. They are administered together and often lumped into one line on a payslip, but they are different schemes with different purposes, different rates and different age rules. Here is how each one works, who has to pay, and how the monthly contribution is worked out — using the same wage ceiling this site's calculator applies.
SOCSO and EIS are two different things
The names get muddled constantly, so it helps to separate them up front:
- SOCSO (Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial) covers two schemes — the Employment Injury Scheme (accidents, occupational diseases and commuting accidents) and the Invalidity Scheme (permanent invalidity or death from any cause, plus a survivors' pension).
- EIS (Employment Insurance System / Sistem Insurans Pekerjaan) is a completely separate scheme that pays temporary financial help and re-employment support if you lose your job through retrenchment — it does not cover resignation or dismissal for misconduct.
Who contributes, and the two SOCSO categories
Contributions are mandatory for almost all employees regardless of salary — there is no minimum-wage exemption the way there is for EPF. Which SOCSO category you fall into depends on your age:
- Under 60: you contribute to the First Category (Employment Injury + Invalidity) — 0.5% from you, 1.75% from your employer.
- 60 and above: you move to the Second Category (Employment Injury only). The employer pays 1.25% and nothing is deducted from you, because the Invalidity Scheme no longer applies.
- EIS covers employees below 60 only. Workers first employed at age 57 or older with no prior EIS contributions are exempt.
| Scheme | Employee | Employer |
|---|---|---|
| SOCSO — First Category (under 60) | 0.5% | 1.75% |
| SOCSO — Second Category (60 and above) | — | 1.25% |
| EIS (under 60 only) | 0.2% | 0.2% |
The RM6,000 wage ceiling (raised October 2024)
Contributions are not charged on your full salary without limit — they are capped at a monthly insured-wage ceiling. That ceiling was raised from RM5,000 to RM6,000 with effect from 1 October 2024, the third increase in recent years. So any earnings above RM6,000 a month are ignored for both SOCSO and EIS: someone earning RM6,000 and someone earning RM12,000 contribute exactly the same amount.
Worked example
Take an employee under 60 earning RM4,000 a month. SOCSO is roughly 0.5% × RM4,000 = RM20 from the employee and 1.75% × RM4,000 = RM70 from the employer. EIS is about 0.2% × RM4,000 = RM8 each side. So around RM28 is deducted from the payslip and the employer adds about RM78 on top.
For anyone earning RM6,000 or more, the calculation stops at the RM6,000 ceiling: the employee side is capped at roughly RM30 SOCSO + RM12 EIS. In practice PERKESO uses fixed contribution tables built on wage bands, so the exact cents differ slightly from a straight percentage — the calculator applies the ceiling and standard rates as a close estimate.
What SOCSO and EIS actually pay for
These are not just deductions — they are insurance. SOCSO's Employment Injury Scheme covers medical treatment, temporary and permanent disablement benefits and a dependants' pension for work-related accidents, including accidents on the commute to and from work. The Invalidity Scheme pays a pension if you become permanently unable to work or die from any cause, not only work-related ones. EIS pays a Job Search Allowance for a period after retrenchment plus training and placement support. Because the employee share is tiny relative to the cover, opting out is not an option even for high earners.
Important caveats
This is a general explanation and a planning estimate only. Actual contributions come from PERKESO's stepped wage-band tables, and the categories, rates and wage ceiling are set by law and revised periodically. Foreign workers now also fall under the Employment Injury Scheme with their own rules. Confirm the exact amount for any specific salary against the official PERKESO contribution table at perkeso.gov.my before relying on it for payroll.
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-10