VNPF achieves VT3B retirement fund contributions target

January 13, 2024 4:37 am | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Anita Roberts.

The Vanuatu National Provident Fund (VNPF) achieved its retirement fund contributions target last year, collecting VT3 billion from employers for their employees.

This includes compulsory and voluntary contributions. While this is the highest record in a year, VNPF’s newly appointed Manager of Operations Division, Reynold Amkori, said the funds came from only 1,500 employers while some 5,000 others are not complying with the VNPF Act.  

Manager Amkori said their new contribution target this year is VT3.5 billion.

He said VNPF through its Compliance Unit will be stricter this year to ensure retirement funds are paid to meet the 2024 target. He urged employers to pay contributions on time to avoid legal action and penalties.

VNPF had filed 19 cases in court against employers who failed to pay their workers’ contributions last year, 17 in 2022 and another 19 in 2021. Employers found breaching the VNPF Act were ordered to pay all the unpaid contributions and penalties for non-compliance.

Manager Amkori said there was a slight reduction from voluntary contributions from informal sector workers like market vendors and drivers this year compare to last year.

VNPF has expanded its coverage to include informal sector workers. A total of VT11.1 million was collected from workers like market vendors and drivers last year, this is a small reduction compared to the previous year which was VT11.3 billion, but an increase compared to VT2 million in 2019.

There was a big jump in contribution collections for seasonal workers under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme in New Zealand from VT18 million in 2022 to VT50 million last year.

VNPF contributions have been growing consistently year by year, from VT2.3 billion in 2020 to VT2.4 billion in 2021 to VT2.5 billion in 2022 and to VT3.5 billion last year, a jump of over VT400,000,000. In 2017, it collected VT1.8 billion and VT2.2 billion in 2018 and to VT2.3 billion the next year.

Currently, VNPF has over 100,000 members in both informal and formal sectors.