$2.49million paid for TC Yasa Relief

A total of 1,761 Fiji National Provident Fund members have accessed the Tropical Cyclone Yasa Relief that was activated in December.

These members have been paid a total of $2.49million.

Chief executive officer Jaoji Koroi said that more than 4,800 applications were received and the remaining applications will be processed and paid by Friday 15 January.

The natural disaster withdrawal closes on Saturday 16 January, when the State of Natural Disaster ends.

“We do apologize for the delays and assure members that they will receive their funds by the end of the week. Conducting the inspection of members’ damaged homes in Vanua Levu, was not easy and there have been other factors that have contributed to the processing setback.”

“These issues have been sorted and we are targeting to complete processing the remaining applications this week.”

Members can also access the housing withdrawal to repair or rebuild their homes. The amount they access will depend on their general account balance, which caters for all early or partial withdrawals.

Members who don’t live in the affected areas but wish to assist their families with the restoration of their homes can also access the normal housing withdrawals and they must ensure they meet all the requirements.

COVID-19 Payment Updates

Members who have accessed the COVID-19 withdrawal have been paid $189.6million for phases 1 – 4, with the Government top-up totalling $80.2million.

The first payment for Phase three round three has been disbursed yesterday, however, payment for some 4,000 members have been delayed and will be processed today.

“Our teams are doing their best to process these applications which have dropped due to the verification process.”

“It’s very important that members provide correct information such as their bank account details or the correct phone numbers for M-PAiSA payment. Failure to do so, leads to unnecessary delays and frustration.”

Members must also be mindful of the withdrawals they are accessing because it impacts their total retirement savings balance.

FNPF is a retirement savings fund and these early access or withdrawals are pre-retirement benefits which ultimately impact members’ total balance.

Members are encouraged to make use of the Fund’s digital platforms to access their account information and services.