As well as retirement benefits, all Fund members can get an advance (a loan) from the Fund for housing purposes.
Under the Member Housing Advance (MHA) scheme, all contributing fund members – both accumulation and defined benefit – are entitled to a housing advance after five years of continuous contributions.
See the MHA scheme policy for details
Note: If you wish to participate in the MHA scheme, we strongly advise you to consider the effects of an advance on your retirement benefits before you apply, or keep advance amounts to a minimum and repay any advances promptly.
How much can you receive?
| Defined Benefit scheme members | |
| Members who have served less than 20 years | 100% of their contributions |
| Members who have served for 20 years or more | 80% of their maximum lump sum eligibility |
| Accumulation scheme members | |
| All members | 100% of their personal (6%) contributions minus interest |
Repayments
Your minimum loan repayments are either 2% of your gross salary or K50.00 per fortnight – whichever is larger.
Options for housing advances
| Option | Description |
| Construction of a home | You may construct a home on state or customary land. (You must be able to provide proof of land ownership.) |
| Purchase of a house | You may buy a house on state land only. |
| Improvements and extensions to an existing house on state or customary land | You may improve or extend your home. (You must be able to provide proof of land ownership.) |
| Buy out existing home loan (refinancing) | If you have an outstanding home loan with a bank or an au-thorised financial institution, you may pay out that loan. |
| Equity to finance a home loan | You may pay a deposit for a home loan to a bank or an au-thorised financial institution. |
How you receive the funds
Note: Payments are not made directly to members.
Payments under the MHA scheme are paid directly to a registered builder or an authorised hardware supplier.
We make payments progressively after receiving satisfactory reports of construction works.
You can use the funds to make payments:
- for skilled labour (e.g. a qualified carpenter) – conditions apply
- for transport providers for building materials – conditions apply
- to vendors of a property – conditions apply
- to authorised white goods merchants, e.g. Brian Bell & Courts.
White goods
Under the MHA scheme policy for white goods, you can apply to buy items on the list if you can demonstrate that you need them:
- refrigerator or deep freezer
- gas or electric stove
- power generator
- solar power units
- water and septic tanks.
Important notice for applicants
For members with less than 20 years of service
If you wish to get an advance (loan), be aware that your contribution account will be affected.
The amount of money remaining in your account after the advance is the only amount that will attract the annual Fund interest.
For members with more than 20 years of service
Members with 20 or more years of effective service with the PNG Defence Force are eligible for a pension.
Money advanced under the MHA scheme is taken from your lump sum eligibility.
If you don’t fully repay your advance before you retire, what is left of the advance will be deducted from the lump sum component of your gross benefits calculated. This won’t affect the minimum pension amount due to you.
However, if you wish to receive a higher pension amount than the minimum amount, you will need to repay the advance to a level that ensures you can still get the higher pension amount at retirement.
Contact us for more details.