Further changes have been made to the Fiji National Provident Fund’s education, medical and unemployment withdrawal benefits.
Key changes include the following:
Unemployment:
- The removal of three months waiting period for Unemployment Withdrawal due to “Resignation”
- The removal of “must be employed within 6 months of application date” withdrawal condition for members who are still unemployed and wish to access Unemployment Withdrawal again after 12 months from the last Unemployment Withdrawal taken after March 2022.
Medical (Overseas) & Education:
- Increase in incidental expenses cover to $10,000 for members with insurance cover. (previously this was capped at $5,000);
- Removal of requirement for members to provide evidence of ability to pay the balance of medical and education fees, if their general account balance is less than 50% of the total fees balance.
Chief executive officer Viliame Vodonaivalu said the changes reflect the Fund’s ongoing efforts to factor in feedback from members, regarding products and services.
“Policy changes are a result of continuous product development and research that our team conducts to ensure the benefits are progressive and inclusive,” said Mr. Vodonaivalu.
“The Fund is aware of the ever changing needs of members and takes these into consideration when revising our policies, keeping in mind the primary purpose of their savings, which is retirement.”
Mr Vodonaivalu said members will appreciate these latest policy changes, which will allow them to continue to take care of their own welfare as well as that of their families.
Revised Withdrawal Benefits
For Unemployment Withdrawal, members who are still unemployed can apply again after one year since their last Unemployment Withdrawal taken after March, 2022. Previously, the cut off was six months.
The three-months stand down period for members who resigned, is no longer applicable. Previously. members who resigned from their jobs, could only apply for the unemployment withdrawal benefit if they were still unemployed after three months.
Additionally, the current criteria for medical and educational withdrawals mandates that members who have a general account balance that is less than 50% of their respective medical or educational expenses must show proof of how they are covering the difference. This requirement is now removed.
For insurance-covered members, the new incidental expenses for medical withdrawals, has been increased to $10,000 from the previous $5,000 cover.
These changes are effective from Tuesday 1 August 2023.
More information is available on the FNPF website www.myfnpf.com.fj