SOCSO SKBBK (Lindung 24 Jam) Is Now Opt-Out: What Malaysian Employers Need to Know in 2026
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SOCSO SKBBK (Lindung 24 Jam) Is Now Opt-Out: What Malaysian Employers Need to Know in 2026

  • SAF
  • 7 days ago
  • 6 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

The headline change this month is SKBBK, also called Lindung 24 Jam. Introduced as a mandatory 0.75% deduction in June 2026, it was made voluntary for local workers on 8 July 2026, and PERKESO has now confirmed how that works in practice. Get it wrong and you either keep deducting from staff who have opted out, or drop it for foreign workers who are still mandatory.

Latest, 10 July 2026: PERKESO will make the SKBBK opt-out available online from Monday. It is an opt-out, not an opt-in: local employees keep contributing the 0.75% by default, and anyone who does not want it must actively opt out by signing a liability-release declaration ("perakuan pelepasan liabiliti"). Foreign workers remain mandatory. Sources at the end of this guide.
Confirmed, 13 July 2026: PERKESO has opened the opt-out. Local employees who do not want SKBBK must submit a Release of Liability Notice through the LINDUNG Faedah portal between 13 July and 31 August 2026. If no notice is received by 31 August, participation is automatically activated, so staying silent means staying in. Full process below.

This guide leads with what you need to know about SKBBK right now, then covers the 2026 EPF, SOCSO and EIS rates, with a worked example and a free calculator so you can check any employee in seconds.

Use the free calculator here: Open the EPF, SOCSO, EIS & SKBBK calculator.


SKBBK (Lindung 24 Jam) is now opt-out for Malaysian employees and mandatory for foreign workers, 2026 payroll update


SKBBK (Lindung 24 Jam): now voluntary, but opt-out by default

SKBBK, the Skim Kemalangan Bukan Bencana Kerja or "Lindung 24 Jam", extends PERKESO protection to accidents that happen outside work, giving 24-hour accident cover. It began on 1 June 2026 as a mandatory 0.75% employee deduction.

That changed within weeks. On 8 July 2026 the Cabinet decided SKBBK would no longer be mandatory for local workers, effective immediately. The Minister of Human Resources confirmed it the next day, and on 10 July PERKESO set out exactly how the voluntary model works.

The single most important point, and the one most payroll teams are getting wrong: it is opt-out, not opt-in. Local employees keep contributing the 0.75% by default. Nothing stops automatically. An employee who does not want the deduction has to actively opt out, and PERKESO is putting that option online from Monday (the week of 14 July 2026). To opt out, the employee completes a liability-release declaration ("perakuan pelepasan liabiliti"); because SKBBK sits under the Employees' Social Security Act 1969 (Act 4), that signed declaration is what legally excludes them, and it is the reference point if a dispute ever arises over an accident outside working hours.

So the scheme is now two-tier:

  • Malaysian citizens and PR: voluntary, opt-out. The 0.75% is still deducted unless and until the employee opts out through PERKESO's online declaration. Do not simply stop deducting for local staff.

  • Foreign workers: still mandatory. SKBBK stays at 0.75%, no opt-out, under the existing Act 4 provisions.

Where it applies, it is borne entirely by the employee (no employer share), computed at 0.75% of banded wages up to the same RM6,000 ceiling as SOCSO, and it applies across both PERKESO categories, so age 60 and above is included, not just under-60s.

PERKESO has been clear it wants people to stay in. It cited roughly 27 Lindung 24 Jam claims a day and close to RM2 million paid out in the scheme's first month, more than the ~13 claims a day it had to reject in 2025 as non-work accidents. It also flagged that the mechanism will be reviewed with KESUMA by the end of 2026, including fund sustainability, so this may not be the final position.

One naming note you will see in official communications: PERKESO rebranded its schemes as "LINDUNG" on 22 August 2025. Under that rebrand, Act 4 is LINDUNG PEKERJA, Act 800 is LINDUNG KERJAYA, Act 789 is LINDUNG KENDIRI, and Act 838 is LINDUNG KASIH. SKBBK/Lindung 24 Jam sits under Act 4 (LINDUNG PEKERJA).

Official sources

Verify against the primary sources rather than reshares:

What changed recently


  • October 2024: SOCSO and EIS wage ceiling raised from RM5,000 to RM6,000.

  • October 2025: EPF became mandatory for foreign workers at 2% employer and 2% employee.

  • June 2026: SKBBK (Lindung 24 Jam) introduced as a mandatory 0.75% employee deduction.

  • 8 July 2026: SKBBK made voluntary for Malaysian employees, effective immediately, while remaining mandatory for foreign workers.

  • 10 July 2026: PERKESO confirmed the model is opt-out (deducted by default; opt out via a liability-release declaration), with the online option available from the following Monday.

  • 13 July 2026: Opt-out opens via the LINDUNG Faedah portal. Employees have until 31 August 2026 to submit a Release of Liability Notice; after that, participation is automatically activated.


If your last payroll review predates any of these changes, your contributions may be out of date.

Deadlines and penalties

All three contributions for a given salary month must be paid by the 15th of the following month. For example, January 2026 wages are due by 15 February 2026. Late EPF attracts a charge based on the prevailing dividend rate plus 1% per annum, and late SOCSO and EIS carry their own penalties. Persistent non-compliance can escalate to prosecution.

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How employees opt out

Doing nothing keeps them in. If PERKESO receives no notice by 31 August 2026, participation is automatically activated.

The opt-out window runs from 13 July to 31 August 2026. An employee who does not want SKBBK submits a Release of Liability Notice (Notis Pelepasan Liabiliti) through the LINDUNG Faedah portal, selecting their employer and confirming they understand they will forgo the scheme's benefits. Employers should not submit it on an employee's behalf: the form requires a declaration that the choice was made voluntarily and without coercion.


Frequently asked questions

When must EPF, SOCSO and EIS be paid each month?

By the 15th of the following month. January wages, for instance, are due by 15 February. SKBBK is remitted together with SOCSO and EIS on the same deadline.

What is SKBBK or Lindung 24 Jam, and is it still compulsory?

SKBBK is a PERKESO scheme covering employees for non-work accidents around the clock, at 0.75% of banded wages (employee-borne, capped at RM6,000, and applying at any age). It began as mandatory in June 2026. Since 8 July 2026 it is voluntary for Malaysian citizens and PR, but it operates as opt-out: the 0.75% is still deducted by default and an employee who wants to stop must sign a liability-release declaration through PERKESO, available online from the week of 14 July 2026. It remains mandatory for foreign workers, who cannot opt out.

How does an employee opt out of SKBBK?

Local employees who do not want the deduction opt out by completing a liability-release declaration ("perakuan pelepasan liabiliti") through PERKESO, available online from the week of 14 July 2026. Until they do, the 0.75% continues to be deducted. Foreign workers cannot opt out.

Where can I find the official SKBBK announcement?

The change was announced by PERKESO in its media release of 10 July 2026, "Opsyen 'Opt-Out' Lindung 24 Jam Disediakan Isnin Depan" (official PERKESO Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/PERKESO.Official/posts/pfbid09PEmDKdfrXqBFUGVPJZhbmvUKG1t2evQVyt5qShtfrFQsPQqQpkSNkesfBnDH4uzl), following the Ministry of Human Resources (KESUMA) statement of 9 July 2026. Scheme details are on PERKESO's Lindung 24 Jam page.

This guide is for general reference and gives estimated figures. EPF follows the KWSP Third Schedule; SOCSO, EIS and SKBBK follow the PERKESO Rate of Contribution tables. For exact payroll, verify against KWSP and PERKESO or use your payroll software.

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