Riya Mala 
FTUC General Secretary Felix Anthony says concerns have grown since FNPF began allowing voluntary deposits in addition to normal member contributions. [Photo: FILE]
The Fiji Trades Union Congress claims the Fiji National Provident Fund’s interest distribution policy unfairly benefits wealthy members while ordinary workers receive very little in return.
FTUC General Secretary Felix Anthony says concerns have grown since FNPF began allowing voluntary deposits in addition to normal member contributions.
Anthony claims wealthy individuals and business owners are now able to deposit large sums of money and receive high annual interest returns, far above what commercial banks offer.
He says under last year’s interest rate of around 8.25 percent, a member with $40,000 savings would have earned about $3,300 in interest, while someone with $1 million in savings would have received more than $82,000.
According to Anthony, only a small percentage of FNPF members hold such large balances, yet they receive the biggest share of profits.
He says just 3.6 percent of members have savings of $100,000 or more, while only 0.5 percent hold between $250,000 and more than $1 million.
The FTUC is now urging FNPF to review its deposit and profit distribution policies so that ordinary members receive a fairer share of returns.
Anthony says higher deposits should attract lower interest rates than normal worker contributions to prevent wealthy investors from disproportionately benefiting from the fund’s profits.
