scholarly journals Liability to Pay Retirement Benefits when Contributions were not Paid to the Retirement Fund: A Reply to Mr Nkosi

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 1-39
Author(s):  
Motseotsile Clement Marumoagae
Keyword(s):  
Pension Funds ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Retirement Benefits ◽  
Retirement Fund ◽  
The Law ◽  
Retirement Funds

This paper responds to the fascinating article written by Mr Thulani Nkosi relating to the devastating effects of employers failure to pay over their employees' retirement funds contributions to the relevant retirement funds.  In particular, I respond to Nkosi’s main argument that retirement funds should pay withdrawal benefits notwithstanding the fact that they did not receive members’ retirement fund contributions from contributing employers.  I argue that while such an approach is understandable, it is nonetheless, legally unsound and further demonstrates that it is not supported by the law as it stands today.  I further argue that Nkosi's reliance on the principle of equity as advocated by Professor John Murphy when he was the Pension Funds Adjudicator to a larger extent does not pay attention to how occupational defined contribution funds operates. The basis of my argument is that defined contribution funds rely on members' contribution and it would not be sustainable for these funds to pay retirement benefits to members whose contributions they did not receive.        

Provisional Registration of a Retirement Fund under Scrutiny in Swaziland

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-61
Author(s):  
Mtendeweka Mhango ◽  
P. Thejane
Keyword(s):  
Pension Fund ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Motor Vehicle Accident ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Vehicle Accident ◽  
First Impression ◽  
Retirement Fund ◽  
The Law ◽  
Retirement Funds

Abstract Recently the Industrial Court of Swaziland was faced with a complaint in Mngadi v Motor Vehicle Accident Fund’s Pension Fund, which raised two important issues of first impression in Swaziland retirement law. This note discusses the significance and effects of Mngadi on provisional registration of retirement funds in Swaziland. It argues that Mngadi should be welcomed because it clarifies the significance of the need for retirement funds to operate in accordance with their registered rules. The note also discusses the problems with the Registrar’s power to issue a provisional certificate of registration under Section 5 in light of the problems that emerged in Mngadi. The note argues that Mngadi should be welcomed because it highlights the characteristics of a defined benefit fund, and implicitly distinguishes it from a defined contribution fund. While Mngadi should generally be welcomed, the Industrial Court should be criticised for its failure to develop the law.

What are the duties (if any) of retirement funds boards which are requested by employers to withhold members’ retirement benefits?

2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (4) ◽  
pp. 818-843
Author(s):  
Clement Marumoagae
Keyword(s):  
Pension Funds ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Retirement Benefits ◽  
Retirement Funds

This article evaluates an extraordinary remedy created by the legislature in s 37D(1)(b)(ii) of the Pension Funds Act 24 of 1956. This provision enables employers, who are able to satisfy retirement funds boards that they have suffered economic harm at the hands of their employees’ who are members of such retirement funds, to be compensated from liable members’ retirement benefits. It is demonstrated in this article that, by and large, the practical application of this section has been driven by the courts and the adjudicator, both of whom have interpreted this provision to include aspects that are not explicitly included in it, such as the retirement fund’s power to withhold benefits at the request of employers. It further demonstrates that there are several critical duties that are not explicitly described in any of the provisions of the Pension Funds Act which courts (and other tribunals) have held must be observed by boards when considering withholding members’ retirement benefits. In this article, these duties are critically evaluated with a view to recommending necessary amendments to s 37D(1)(b)(ii) of the Pension Funds Act.

scholarly journals Optimal Path for Sustainable Retirement System in Malaysia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sim Ying Run ◽  
Adem Kilicman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Model ◽  
Optimal Path ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Contribution Rate ◽  
Microsoft Excel ◽  
Retirement Benefits ◽  
Retirement System ◽  
Reduced Gradient ◽  
Retirement Fund ◽  
Excel Solver

This research aims to analyse the sustainability of retirement system and relevant optimal path to achieve sustainable post-retirement livings in Malaysia context. Focus of this study is put on Employees Provident Fund (EPF) which is mainly constituted by employees from private sector. EPF is a fully funded defined-contribution by both employees and employers. In this research, main variables used are contribution rate and retirement age based on relevant indexation of pension. For a sustainable retirement living, retirement benefits are expected to be in a maximisation function. Attempts to find sustainable retirement fund are via step-by-step mathematical calculation using formulas in Microsoft Excel and verification of the result with Excel Solver via Generalised Reduced Gradient (GRG) algorithm. Eventually, two-third retirement decision model is used to justify the sustainability of retirement fund other than justification using monthly household expenditure.

scholarly journals Determinants of Pension Fund Investment in Nigeria: The Critical Factors

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeoti, Johnson Olabode ◽  
Gunu, Umar ◽  
Tsado, Emmanuel
Keyword(s):  
Internal Control ◽  
Pension Fund ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Retirement Benefits ◽  
Fund Investment

Pension fund is a pool of resources contributed by the employees with the aim of having enough resources to carter for their needs after retirement. Therefore, pension fund needs to be invested so as to meet the aim of the contributors. This study was carried out to evaluate the factors that determine investment of Pension Funds. The study used primary data, which were generated by the use of questionnaire. Respondents were selected from a sample of five PFAs in Nigeria using simple random sampling technique. A total of 125 questionnaires were administered on 18 items using likert scales. Data collected were analyzed using factor analysis by principal component. Economic, Risk and Security of real estate factors were identified as the major determinants of pension fund investment. The study concludes that variables such as interest rate, internal control system etc, are not critical in determining investment of pension funds in Nigeria. The study also recommends that pension fund managers should develop good systems of mitigating on the enormous risks they face in their duty as investment managers. Key words: Pension fund, Determinants, Defined contribution, Retirement benefits, Pension fund administrator

scholarly journals A Look at Retirement Funds in the Iranian Legal System

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Aidin Bagheri ◽  
Mohamadreza Mojtahdi
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Macroeconomic Fluctuations ◽  
Retirement Benefits ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Single Standard ◽  
Retirement Funds

Pension funds are an important pillar of the social security system of the country. Historically, retirement funds in the Iranian legal system have been a source of many problems, most notably financial deficits. The lack of prospects for the future and the uncertain program and unprofessional management, as a result of the lack of transparency and ineffective and sometimes contradictory laws, have all worked together to make retirement funds a problem in the country; this turmoil and turmoil situation And the inadequacies of funds in all respects have caused worries about the future. Reasons for the aging of the population and the decline in employment and ... have increased the seriousness of the crisis. The implementation of early-retirement laws in different periods, macroeconomic fluctuations, and neglect of misguided and non-normative outlooks and government roles, and largely one-way interactions with funds, are one of the most important reasons for the existence of a crisis in retirement funds In recent years. In Iran, the increase in the number of retirement funds has been caused by various programs and systems (various regulations); in the absence of comprehensive welfare and social security systems in the country, the stratification and distribution of decay and support Boxes will also be added. In this context, it is necessary to gain a comprehensive understanding of the status and legal system of the pension funds, with the study of how the administration and the status of the cost are spent, the inputs of these funds and the amount and group covered. In other words, the multiplicity of pension funds and the lack of coordination between these institutions and the lack of a single standard in them and the lack of respect for the fairness of the income received by retirees has caused dissatisfaction with this important group of society, because the type of services and range of support, also from the fund to the fund The difference is different, and this creates discrimination and increases the gap between the strata; it should be noted that the function and function of pension funds is international and the lack of attention to these funds can have serious consequences in the community. Currently, reforms to the rules and regulations of the pension funds and the management and management of these funds are important and important priorities, and the planned measures should be directed towards changing the situation and improving the efficiency and funds and optimal and wise use. Resources are maintained, with no loss or damage to retirement benefits.

The Use of Utility Functions for Investment Channel Choice in Defined Contribution Retirement Funds. I: Defence

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 653-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.J. Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Expected Utility ◽  
Utility Theory ◽  
Expected Utility Theory ◽  
Utility Functions ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Channel Choice ◽  
Retirement Fund ◽  
Retirement Funds

ABSTRACTThis paper addresses the use of expected utility theory for the recommendation of an apportionment between investment channels of a member's interest in a defined contribution retirement fund. Such usage is defended against arguments that have been levelled against expected utility theory and empirical evidence is discussed.

scholarly journals The Rules of an Occupational Retirement Fund and the Problem of Defaulting Employers: A Reconsideration of Orion Money Purchase Pension Fund (SA) v Pension Funds Adjudicator

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Thulani Nkosi
Keyword(s):  
Pension Fund ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Retirement Fund ◽  
Retirement Funds

This paper reflects on the ongoing challenges presented by certain employers who, whilst deducting occupational retirement fund contributions from their employees' salaries, fail to pay over those contributions to the relevant occupational retirement funds. These employers also often fail to register themselves or their employees as participating members of occupational retirement funds when they are supposed to. Such failures to register with the relevant occupational retirement funds and to pay over fund contributions have disastrous effects on the employees who are at the receiving end of these unlawful practices. This is the case because employees lose the value and use of their salaries through the deductions, and also the benefits of their occupational retirement funds.Although the Pension Funds Act 24 of 1956 is sufficiently responsive and provides adequate mechanisms to guide against this scourge, it is this paper's argument that occupational retirement funds themselves have not done their bit in enforcing the Pension Funds Act. The failure on the part of the funds to enforce the Pension Funds Act by ensuring that fund contributions are collected from participating employers has resulted in, and continues to result in, untold losses on the part of the employees. Properly considered, the paper submits that the failure by occupational retirement funds to enforce the Pension Funds Act has the potential of unjustifiably limiting several of the employee members' constitutional rights.It is not good enough, so argues the paper, for occupational retirement funds to have rules that prohibit them from paying retirement fund benefits where no contributions have been received. It is also not good enough for courts and the office of the PFA to blindly enforce the rules of occupational retirement funds without consistently subjecting them to the Pension Funds Act and the Constitution for validity and legality. It is on this basis that the case of Orion Money Purchase Pension Fund (SA) v Pension Funds Adjudicator is challenged. The case is authority for the principle that the only available remedy to an employee who has been cheated out of retirement fund benefits owing to the employer's failure to make fund contributions is one that compels the fund to calculate those outstanding contributions and demand that total sum from the employer. For various reasons this does not address the problem of defaulting employers, which can be addressed only by properly enforcing the Pension Funds Act and also consistently subjecting the rules to the Act in cases of disputes.

scholarly journals The Influence of Pension Scheme Maturity on Investment Strategies of Pension Funds in Kenya

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Wilson Ngugi ◽  
Amos Njuguna ◽  
Francis Wambalaba
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Data ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Pension Scheme ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Retirement Benefits ◽  
Risky Assets ◽  
Life Cycle Theory ◽  
Funding Risk

The longevity risk borne by members of defined contribution pension schemes and the funding risk borne by sponsors of defined benefit pension funds have shifted attention to the investment strategies employed by pension funds. We use secondary data from 206 occupational retirement benefits schemes in Kenya, to examine the influence of pension scheme maturity on investment strategies. We then triangulate the results using focused group discussions with industry experts. Results from the regression models indicate that scheme maturity does not influence the investment strategies of occupation schemes in Kenya contrary to life cycle theory. The Retirement Benefits Authority and trustees of retirement benefits schemes in Kenya are advised to offer members’ investment choices coupled with education to enable them make decisions to reduce their exposure to risky assets as they age.

scholarly journals Deprivation of Retirement Benefits on Divorce through Living Annuities in South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Motseotsile Clement Marumoagae
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Retirement Benefits ◽  
Retirement Fund ◽  
The Law ◽  
Matrimonial Law

Abstract This article discusses the law regulating living annuities when spouses in South Africa are divorcing. It demonstrates that South African courts have interpreted the law to prejudice non-member spouses financially. It argues that courts have failed to consider matrimonial principles when determining whether living annuities are susceptible to being shared on divorce. It argues further that adequate consideration of matrimonial principles will render it impossible for retirement fund members to prejudice their spouses financially by purchasing living annuities without the consent of such spouses, particularly when married in community of property. Disregarding matrimonial law principles may lead to deprivation of property.

scholarly journals Nexus Between Pension Fund Size, Design and Investment Strategy: A Review of Occupational Retirement Benefits Schemes in Kenya

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilson Ngugi ◽  
Amos Njuguna
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Data ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Retirement Benefits ◽  
Retirement Benefit ◽  
Fund Size ◽  
Funding Risk

The funding risk borne by sponsors of defined benefit pension funds and the residual risk borne by members of defined contribution pension funds have necessitated focus on the investment strategies employed by pension funds. We use secondary data from 206 pension funds in Kenya, to determine the nexus between the investment strategy, size and design. We then validate the results using focused group discussions with industry experts. Results from the regression models indicate that larger schemes adopted a riskier investment strategies compared to their smaller counterparts. However, the investment strategies are not informed by the fund designs. Trustees of retirement benefit schemes are therefore advised to focus their investment strategies to avoid exposing the residual claimants to excessive risk.

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