FNPF COVID-19 home loan assistance
THE COVID-19 Response Home Loan Assistance is a specific relief for Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) members whose employment has been impacted by the pandemic and have an existing home loan with a bank/lender.
This assistance was activated on April 1, 2021 and already, the Fund has identified 809 members who qualify.
Through this home loan relief, these members will be able to access up to 50 per cent of their preserved account, plus 100 per cent of their general account to pay up to 12 months of their home loan.
This article provides more details about this assistance to help members understand how it works.
i. Any member affected by the COVID-19 pandemic who qualifies for FNPF relief assistance (unemployment/reduced pay);
ii. He/she must have an existing home loan and made arrangements for a loan repayment holiday (moratorium) with their lenders by March 31, 2021;
iii. The member must be the legal owner of the property concerned; and
iv. He/she must reside on the property under mortgage.
The assistance opened from April 1 and will close on June 30, 2021.
The minimum repayment term is three (3) months and the maximum term is twelve (12) months.
Members will need to visit an FNPF office to obtain their COVID-19 Housing Eligibility Statement.
This is determined by your COVID-19 housing eligibility. If you have enough in your General Account (GA) to meet 3 to 12 months repayment, then your loan repayment will be paid out from your GA.
Otherwise, you can access up to 50 per cent of your Preserved Account (PA) to make up for the repayments. You can determine how much you take from your FNPF savings based on the repayment period being applied for and your monthly repayment amount.
Please note that FNPF will only take a charge on the amount drawn from your PA, if you are accessing your PA for a second time, and if the amount drawn, individually or with co-owners of the property, is equal to or over $9000.
You can access 100 per cent of your General Account (balance at the time of application) and 50 per cent of your Preserved Account balance at commencement date - April 1, 2021.
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A minimum of $35 will remain in your General Account, which is the standard premium for Special Death Benefit (SDB) that provides a cover of $8500.
Government top-up is not available for this assistance. Funds will be drawn from your FNPF account.
Yes you can both apply; provided
■ That one or all parties are eligible for the FNPF COVID-19 Relief Assistance;
■ The person that is directly affected by COVID-19 pandemic must apply;
■ That the property was under a moratorium with the banks/lenders by 31 March, 2021;
■ You are both the legal owners of the property (your names are both on the title);
■ The mortgaged property is your principal place of residence;
■ Joint applicants must apply together (1 application per property); and
■ Each can only apply once, one property only, for this assistance
10. How do I work out the money that will be taken from my General and Preserved Accounts for this loan repayment?
a) Single Applicant using the example in No.6 and assuming that your loan repayment is $800 a month.
Then for 12 months, your total repayment would be $9600 ($800 x 12). We will then draw the $9600 accordingly by taking $5000 from your GA and $4600 from your PA.
b) Multiple Applicant using the same example but with multiple – in this case, two applicants. Loan payable is $9600 for 12 months.
Member A decides to pay $8000 from his account and Member B will pay the remaining balance of $1600. Deduction from Member A and B accounts are as follows:
Again, it is important that members seek advice and discuss their options before you make a decision on how much to withdraw from your accounts. Once the application has been lodged and processed, FNPF will not accept amended applications.
The Fund has allowed for a maximum of 12 months repayment period for now. This decision may be reviewed later.
All FNPF pre-retirement withdrawal assistance draws from the GA only. Likewise, this assistance requires you to use your GA eligibility before you can access your PA.
FNPF will only take a charge on the amount drawn from your PA, if you are accessing your PA for the second time for any amount equal to or above $9000.
The charge is to safeguard your interest. In a worst-case scenario, and should you contemplate selling your property or if the bank forecloses on the loan, the charge ensures that this amount is repaid to your account after the settlement of the sale of your property.
Yes, it will apply. For any funds drawn from the PA, the rule is that all incoming contributions will be directed towards your PA balance for five (5) years or until the amount withdrawn has been recovered; whichever comes first.
Yes, you will be assisted if:
■ You provide all receipts to acquit for the funds withdrawn or
■ Provide a statutory declaration on how the withdrawn funds were utilized.
The applications will be lodged through your banks/lenders. You will need to complete the application form COVID19-U02 and provide all the requirements that are listed on the form – these will be provided to your banks/lenders who will then lodge your applications with FNPF.
No. The banks/lenders will forward us your applications.
No. The process requires you to submit your application to the banks//lenders.
Once received from the banks/lenders and with all requirements provided, processing will take between 8 and 30 working days.
■ No charge placed – 8 working days;
■ Charged placed – up to 30 working days.
The following fees apply:
■ Consent fees - this is the responsibility of property owners to clear before the charge can be registered, otherwise this will delay processing time.
■ Lodgment fees - Registrar of Titles office.
These must be paid by the member upfront.
Final approval will be given upon clearance of the following requirements:
i) Upon grant of consent from the lessor/ landlord
ii) Withdrawal of any caveat placed over the property, where applicable
iii) Lodgment slip as confirmation that FNPF charge has been lodged at Registrar of Titles office.
This approval is valid for 30 working days from the date of this letter. Applications will be declined on the expiry of this approval should the conditions mentioned above (i to iii) are not met.
■ The latest certified copy of Title, not more than 1 month old;
■ Valid photo ID.
The banks/lenders will provide us with the following:
■ Latest home loan account statement
■ Home loan monthly repayments
■ Moratorium agreement with member
■ Copy of original offer and latest variation letter
■ Any other document specified in the COVID-19-U02 application form or required during the process.
A lump sum will be paid out of FNPF to your home loan account to cover for the loan repayment period that you applied for.
You can call us on 3238269 or 3307811, alternatively you can email us on covidhousing@fnpf.com.fj or view through the MyFNPF App.