Sainiani Boila 
Workers who leave the Fiji National Provident Fund will soon have more chances to rejoin and continue saving for retirement, following a recent parliamentary amendment led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad.
Currently, FNPF members who exit the fund after major life events such as migration or significant medical issues can only be readmitted once and with the amendment to Section 366 of the FNPF Act, individuals will now be allowed to rejoin the fund up to two additional times if their circumstances change.
This change directly addresses scenarios where former members return to Fiji or re-enter the workforce, ensuring they are not penalized for life interruptions that can affect their retirement savings trajectory.
“This flexibility will allow them to continue building their lifelong savings and it make sense for people if they withdraw once, they join again and if they withdraw again and if they get back to jobs then what we are doing is simply allowing them to join the second time.”
Professor Prasad noted that Fiji had previously reduced the retirement age from 60 to 55, a decision made “without logical assessment of the labour market needs or changing demographic trends.”
Experts and stakeholders, including the FNPF board and management, have backed the amendment as a practical modernization of Fiji’s social security landscape and a significant step toward more inclusive retirement planning.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
