Solomon Islands National Provident Fund (SINPF) has commenced payment to its members under the COVID-19 emergency withdrawals as of last week.
A statement from SINPF Media Unit yesterday said payout to members has officially commenced on Thursday and will continue today and in the coming days.
Hundreds of members have applied to withdraw part of their contribution in light of the emergency period brought about by the health pandemic.
As a result of the health crisis and looming economic downturn, the minister of finance has authorised NPF to release part of the members’ contribution.
Members have three months to apply to withdraw part of the contribution.
The application period had opened on April 1 will conclude at the end of June.
The media statement said the first successful batch of members have received their payments in various forms through, cash, cheque and via bank accounts as of Thursday. More payouts are expected today and in the coming days.
The emergency withdrawal is being made available to members who are being made redundant and temporarily laid off.
Those who have received their payments have left for their home provinces while others are still in the process of submitting their application for withdrawal and others waiting for their payment.
SINPF last week outlined the process involved in the COVID-19 payout for the formal sector.
The process for collecting the payments from SINPF are as follows:
- Member(s) will receive a text message once their application has been approved and their payment is ready for collection
- For members with bank accounts, they will receive a text informing them that payment has been made to their respective Bank accounts.
- For members that do not have bank accounts, a text message will be sent to them containing a number of information, such as the member ID number & withdrawal reference number, date to collect a payment, payment location, the time period to collect the payment.
Members have been urged to contact NPF to get more information about the payment process.
By MOFFAT MAMU
