Opposition MP Premila Kumar says the Coalition Government has effectively admitted that the controversial 2012 Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) pension reforms it once fiercely opposed were, in fact, necessary and correct.
The reforms were introduced under the Bainimarama Government.
In a statement yesterday, Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel said that reverting to pre-2012 pension rates — and backdating payments — would weaken the Fiji National Provident Fund, threaten member balances and impose an unsustainable financial burden on the Fund.
Government has stated that reinstating pensions to 2012 levels would cost about $582 million, a sum the Fund cannot absorb without harming more than 430,000 active members.
“In plain terms, the Government is now accepting that the 2012 reforms were necessary to protect the Fund,” Ms Kumar said.
She said this position mirrored exactly the argument made in 2012 — one that was “rubbished for years” by those now in power.
Ms Kumar also raised concern over what she described as selective treatment of pensioners.
Despite acknowledging the financial risks of backdating pensions, the Coalition Government announced a $57 million payout in the 2024–2025 Budget, but only to pensioners who opted for the full-pension option.
“The question is why only one category of pensioners deserves assistance,” she said, noting that many retirees had legitimately chosen a partial pension and partial withdrawal option offered by FNPF.
She questioned who authorised this decision and on what basis Cabinet approved the selective payout.
Government has also argued that backdating pensions is unconstitutional under the 2013 Constitution, citing Section 173(3), which prevents undoing the legal effect of the 2012 reforms.
Minister for Finance, Commerce and Business Development Esrom Immanuel has said Government’s foremost responsibility is to keep pensions actuarially sound and sustainable for future generations.
Ms Kumar said that justification “mirrors almost word-for-word” the rationale used in 2012.
“What was once opposed is now being validated,” she said. “What they called unjust, they now call necessary.”
She said the refusal to backdate pensions amounted to an implicit admission that the 2012 reforms were essential, adding that an 8.75 per cent interest return paid to members last year showed the reforms were delivering strong results.
Ms Kumar said the Coalition Government now owed the people of Fiji an apology for misleading them for political gain.
