Under the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund Act, “every employer is required to pay to the Fund a sum equivalent to 12.5 percent of each employee’s total gross salary each month. This pay or contribution comprises 5 percent deducted from a member’s gross salary and a further 7.5 percent contributed by the employer on behalf of the employee/member” [2]. Contributors to the savings plan have enjoyed an average annual interest rate of 8 percent since 2007. As of 2014, the Fund has USD 2.4 billion in assets under management, and it has 170,000 members as of June 2015. More recent data is not available.
Based in Fiji, PFIP was established in 2014 with a 5-year budget of USD 20 million. Its goal is to increase by 1 million the number of Pacific Islanders who have ongoing access to “affordable” financial services and related education. Its main zones of operation are Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu.
By Christian Chartier, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources:
[1] “NPF Pilots New Retirement Savings Scheme for Self-Employed”, PFIP.org, http://www.pfip.org/newsroom/press-releases/2017-2/npf-pilots-new-retirement-savings-scheme/
[2] “Solomon Islands’ National Provident Fund – Contribution Rate”, SINPF.org.sb,
http://sinpf.org.sb/index.php/employers-services/about-contribution-rates.html
PFIP
http://www.pfip.org/
MicroCapital coverage of The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP), June 6, 2015 https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-pacific-financial-inclusion-programme-pfip-bima-partner-to-offer-microinsurance-in-rural-papua-new-guinea/
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