FNPF will not allow members to use their Preserved Account to pay loans - AG

Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has made it clear that FNPF laws will not allow its members to withdraw funds from their Preserved Account to pay off their bank loans unless it is a home loan.

This is after a woman raised concerns during the budget consultations at the Sheraton Resort that she had small loans with the bank where the deduction was according to her wage rate before COVID-19.

She told Sayed-Khaiyum that they were still paying the interest when they were not working and the bank started calling them when they resumed work.

The woman says she has asked the bank if the deduction can be according to her current wage rate because she is working on a lower rate now.

She says the bank has refused the request and she then asked Sayed-Khaiyum if she can pay the loan using her Preserved Account.

Sayed-Khaiyum says the FNPF policy will not allow the woman to use her Preserved Account to pay for her loans unless its a home loan.

He says maybe the woman should talk to other banks and he is surprised that the bank has not let the woman make a new arrangement with regards to the payment. Sayed-Khaiyum says he knows some banks who have reduced the payment amount because they understand people are not earning as much as they used to.