Environment

The Statutory Bodies Family Protection Fund operates in the field of pension benefits.

The number of employees involved is around 25% of the number of employees in the parastatal sector and some 10% of Government employees.

It has thus a significant major role to play in this particular sector of financial services.

During the last decade pension issues have been in the limelight of international actuarial discussions, and debates at government level worldwide have reached levels as never before.  One of the measures taken in the Pay Research Bureau report 2008 is the extension of the retirement age up to 65 years.

The costs of pension provisions, employer/employee awareness, security of assets, customer communication have been thoroughly debated upon with the consequence that the last few years have seen an enhancement in regulatory powers and customer communication. The introduction of the employee contribution towards pension cost has also been noted significantly.

Organisation involving the provision of pension benefits should be equipped to face new challenges both in the short and the long term.

It is therefore the appropriate time for the Statutory Bodies Family Protection Fund to make an assessment of its strengths and weaknesses both internal and external, develop a clear definition of its goals and objectives so that it is in harmony with and thrives in this environment.