15 Jun 2011

Meetings continue in Fiji over proposed changes to NPF

10:54 am on 15 June 2011

Meetings are continuing over the proposed changes to payout and contributions to the Fiji National Provident Fund.

The fund is set to announce changes to the pension structure and is proposing cuts to members' annual returns from 15 percent to about nine percent.

The Fiji Islands Council Trade Unions said rushing in charges would create an environment of panic

The Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Professor Biman Prasad, says action is needed, but the main change required is an improved economy:

"You know the level of new additions is very very low. You know if you don't have economic growth, I mean even the lower pension rate cannot be sustainable in the long term."

Professor Prasad says growth levels of more than 3 or 4 per cent are needed to ensure the viability of the fund.