- August 11, 2021
- Posted by: test editor1
- Categories: Media Articles, News & Media
The Fiji National Provident Fund COVID-19 Unemployment assistance will reopen on Monday, 9 August 2021 the continuation of Phases two, four and the Voluntary members relief.
However, the new rounds will only be available to members with sufficient General Account balance.
Acting Chief Executive Officer Viliame Vodonaivalu said the relief will only assist those who meet the criteria and could fully self-fund from their General Account balances.
“As announced in the National Budget address, members will only be able to access the FNPF relief if they meet the minimum General Account balance requirement, which is $755 for the next rounds of the Fund’s COVID-19 relief.”
“Those who do not qualify, are advised to seek Government assistance directly.”
“It’s important to note that Government has been fully and partially subsidizing thousands of members in the previous rounds of phases two and three and this shift to a direct approach on Government’s part, is an extension of the relief they had been providing since April 2020.”
“The Government assistance is also available for members who have sufficient General Account balance (minimum $755) but would rather not withdraw their retirement savings. This is a good initiative by Government as an alternative for members who are conscious of the importance of maintaining their savings with the Fund.”
These members can opt for either the FNPF COVID-19 relief or the Government Unemployment benefit, but they cannot apply for both.
“Similar to the Government’s unemployment assistance, the Fund will also disburse payments in two instalments over a six-month period,” said Mr. Vodonaivalu.
PHASE TWO
The same qualifying conditions for unemployment will be applicable for Phase 2– members must be unemployed or on leave without pay from October 2019.
The minimum General Account balance required is $755 and members can access between $720 and a maximum amount $2,640.
All applications must be submitted on the myFNPF mobile App.
PHASE FOUR
The Phase 4 relief is open to members who have been unemployed from January 2010 to September 2019 and are still unemployed.
The minimum required General Account balance is $755 and the member can access between $720 to $1,100.
All applications must be submitted on the myFNPF App.
VOLUNTARY MEMBER’s RELIEF
Apart from the minimum General Account balance of $755, only those members, who signed up for Voluntary Membership prior to 9 August 2021, will be eligible for the Voluntary members relief.
The maximum amount for this relief is $1,100.
LOW BALANCE WITHDRAWAL
The Fund has also revised its existing Small Account full withdrawal to allow members with a total FNPF balance of $10,000 or less, to fully withdraw their funds if they have been unemployed for 12 months or more.
Currently, the withdrawal ceiling for Small Accounts, which will now be known as the Low Balance Account Withdrawal, is $5,000 for members between 50 to 54 years old.
MICRO BUSINESS ASSISTANCE
“This is another initiative that is available for members between 50-54 years and whose employment was impacted due to the health pandemic.”
“Members must have a minimum General Account balance of $1,035 and can access a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $10,000 from their General Account. This relief is aimed at assisting members with small or micro business ventures.”
FNPF will announce in due course the full requirements and commencement dates for the Low Balance Account and Micro Business assistance.
APPLICATION PROCESS
“Members are encouraged to refrain from visiting our offices but to continue to access our digital platforms for their safety as well as ours,” said Mr. Vodonaivalu.
Applications for Phase 2, Phase 4 and Voluntary members relief will close on Friday September 17, 2021.
All information pertaining to these relief measures will be fully available on the FNPF website, social media pages and newspapers on Thursday this week. Members can also call 5857 or email Information@fnpf.com.fj for more information.
Click on the below link to download