54,141 FNPF members receive $35 million under COVID-19 Assistance

54,141 members of Fiji National Provident Fund have accessed their funds for the COVID-19 relief withdrawal scheme, which is 70% of the total applications received by the Fund so far.

More than $35 million has been paid for the COVID-19 relief withdrawals.

FNPF says the $31 million paid by the Fund to date, is more than half of the total amount ($56.3m) accessed for early withdrawals (excluding housing) by members in 2019.

41,698 members have accessed their own funds, while 12,443 members were assisted by the Government, with a payout of $4.2 million.

Chief Executive Officer Jaoji Koroi says the Fund is doing its best with the processing of applications.

Koroi says they understand that these are anxious times for members and they are doing their best to process COVID-19 withdrawal applications.

He also says the Fund has encountered some setbacks with payments processing, especially for those opting for M-PAiSA, BillPaid (Post Fiji) and the Government top-up, but this is due to the large volume of payments that are processed daily.

Koroi says these are challenges that they encounter daily but they continue to address it in their quest to ensure that members receive their funds.

The FNPF CEO has assured members that those who have applied for the COVID-19 withdrawals and meet the requirements, will receive their funds.

He reiterates that there are no cash flow issues as some were claiming, but the Fund is simply ensuring proper processes are followed for the withdrawal payout.

Koroi says these withdrawals are well within the Fund’s financial means and members can refer to FNPF’s annual reports that are available on their website because it contains all the facts pertaining to their funds.

406 members withdraw funds under TC Harold Assistance

A total of $515,000 has been paid to 406 FNPF members for the TC Harold withdrawal scheme, which is being processed simultaneously with the COVID-19 applications.

FNPF CEO, Jaoji Koroi says the Fund’s inspection teams are in Kadavu this week and have started visiting the villages and settlements that have been identified by the National Disaster Management Office.

Koroi says inspection for areas identified on Viti Levu, wrapped up last week and their teams will be in Kadavu until the end of next week.

He also says members who live outside of the areas identified as worst affected, can still access their funds for housing withdrawal if they are eligible.