MORE than $185,000 remained unaccounted for in the Fiji National Provident Fund’s Suspense Account, as it worked on identifying workers’ rightful identities. In its 2024 annual report released yesterday, FNPF revealed a total of $185,714.62 was recorded in the Suspense Account during the year, compared to $110,610.27 in 2023.
“The increase is attributed to the recovery of aging contribution debts and undistributed contributions from past years, which the team is actively working to resolve,” FNPF stated.
“A significant challenge in addressing these suspense entries is the closure of businesses, making it difficult to ascertain who these funds belong to.
“For those still operating, the team has reached out to assist them in identifying their employees and submitting accurate details so that contributions can be credited to their members’ accounts.”
FNPF also transferred $12,640.61 of members’ funds to Unclaimed Deposits Account after what it said was reasonable diligent inquiry.
“These are member funds that cannot be identified due to insufficient member details provided by their employers,” it stated.
“Employers are responsible for providing correct member details when they are registered after recruitment.
“The Fund continues to work with employers with suspense account listings to address the issue of member savings currently in the suspense account.”
Last month, FNPF announced a new late contribution penalty regime that comes into effect next month.
FNPF contributions are directed into the FNPF’s Suspense Account when companies submit insufficient or incorrect details of their workers.
From January 1, 2025, employers will be required to pay 10per cent of outstanding contributions monthly including December 2024 contributions.
