Article 1. Management and Operation of the Fund
1.1 The provisions of the regulations for the VR Sick Pay Fund apply as far as applicable to the VR Contingency Fund, except where explicitly stated otherwise in these regulations, including regarding management, executive operations, and administration.
Article 2. Purpose
2.1 The VR Contingency Fund is an information system regarding the specific entitlements of VR members. Its purpose is to encourage VR members to establish a reserve fund to address potential difficulties, help maintain their position in the labor market, for preventive measures, and to enable them to enjoy vacations. The system stores the specific entitlement balance of VR members, which they can utilize for:
- study leave and the purchase of educational services
- support alongside unemployment benefits and payments
- retirement after reaching the age of 60
- health-related issues
- purchasing life, accident, and illness insurance
- purchasing physical fitness, rehabilitation, psychological, medical, and dental services
- purchasing aids such as glasses and hearing aids
- purchasing vacation-related services
2.2 The VR board shall set more detailed rules regarding withdrawals from the fund and other operational arrangements. The board is authorized to set a fee schedule and charge costs for individual withdrawals according to the current fee schedule at the time. The board must submit any changes to the fee schedule to the Consultative Council.
Article 3. Income and Accrual of Rights
3.1 Contributions to the VR Contingency Fund are determined by the VR Annual General Meeting in accordance with the regulations for the VR Sick Pay Fund and the VR Holiday Pay Fund. They shall be registered to VR members in proportion to their contributions and will form a specific entitlement balance, which shall be recorded in the VR Contingency Fund’s information system.
3.2 Employers are required to remit withheld contributions to VR. In the case of late payments, default interest will be charged from the due date until the payment date. Rights are only accrued for contributions that are paid, and rights are based on the rate of the month to which the payment pertains.
3.3 VR members with a balance exceeding the threshold determined by the VR board at any given time must be sent a statement at least once a year if there has been activity regarding their entitlements in the past two years. The statement must include a request to the fund members to immediately report any discrepancies in contribution payments.
Article 4. Expiry of Rights
If VR membership is terminated, the entitlement balance will be reduced by 25% after 24 months from the date the last contributions were made and will continue to be reduced by the same amount annually until the entitlements are fully expired. However, entitlements amounting to less than ISK 1,000 expire immediately.
Article 5. Effective Date
These provisions are effective as of 24 April 2006. Changes to these regulations can only be made at the VR AGM.