Low Income Voluntary Contributions Made Easier
Contributing to pension funds for those in the informal sector has not always been easy.
Unlike those in the formal sector, they have to find the time to make their way to the FNPF Centre and line up in a queue to deposit money into their account. However, the Fiji National Provident Fund, Vodafone Fiji and the United Nations- Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) has made life easier for them. Now, low income earners or those in the informal sector can make voluntary pension contributions through their mobile phones.
Fiji National Provident Fund chief financial officer Pravinesh Singh said the digital model is designed to encourage more Fijians to actively save for retirement and to remove the hassle of lining up at a FNPF branch and to provide a means for rural Fijians to make contributions and secure their future.
Mr Singh said FNPF will also be exploring other sectors where they feel that FNPF can serve.
Vodafone Fiji manager E-Commerce Shailendra Prasad said he is very passionate about this project.
He said: “One thing that really affects me emotionally is when I see people in old age being discarded by their kids because they do not have any money with them. “When they get sick, frail and need assistance, nobody is there to care for them.
“But when you are young and have money, then everybody is your friend.
“But when you are sick or your house is blown away by the cyclone, nobody comes to you assist you.
“That is why it is important that you do not think of today but think about the future when you reach the old age.”
Around $50 000 was invested into this new project, he added.
Mr Prasad encourages everyone to discipline themselves and make the decision to save no matter what happens. PFIP Acting programme manager Krishnan Narasimhan said those in the informal sector presently do not have an appropriate service for their old age protection. Mr Narasimhan was proud to announce that PFIP had exceeded the mandate of assisting one million Pacific Islanders by providing financial assistance.
He said PFIP has nearly assisted 1.7 million Pacific Islanders including Fiji.
Over the next six to nine months, FNPF will be testing the product with at least 500 new registrants from the informal sector.
During this period, they will be monitoring whether the registrants will continue to save at regular intervals and will study and analyze their behaviours, attitudes and motivation to do so.
It is important that you do not think of today but think about the future when you reach the old age. Shailendra Prasad Vodafone Fiji manager E-Commerce