Pension Fund releases Benefit Statements after 5-year haitus
RETHABILE MOHONO
MASERU – The Pension Fund has recently released the 2022\2023 Members Benefit Statement after a long pause. This document is designed to assist civil servants in making well-informed financial decisions when they leave government employment and enter retirement. It provides crucial information about pension contributions, the current value of the pension, and other important details. With nearly 40,000 members to date, the Fund aims to support individuals in planning for their future financial security.
According Head of Benefits Admin at Pension Fund, Makoa Macheli this document contains member details, contribution rates, details of your Fund credit, summary of individuals’ benefits in the Fund, and Important Notes. A sample of Benefit statement will be attached for ease of reference.
He said the benefits statements were suspended in 2016/2017 financial year due to inaccurate membership data. “Lack of accurate member data restricted the Fund to calculate past service liability for members who qualify for it,” he said noting that on this Fund, there are two (2) categories of membership, those with past service liability and those without it.
“So the Fund resolved to issue out benefits statements to all members without past service liability going forward,” he said. He further indicated that the statement serves as a crucial indicator of members’ contributions and net worth, offering valuable insights for those considering leaving government employment and enabling them to make well-informed financial decisions.
He also explained that there are civil servants who served the government prior to the establishment of the Pension Fund who are referred to members of the Fund with Past service Liability. “They are involved by requesting them to provide three pay slips, October & November 2008 and current pay slip, copy of Identity Document (ID) and spouse ID then projections are done by the actuaries to establish how much they worth.
In case of errors in the statement, Macheli said members are urged to liaise with Human Resources officer or the Fund for clarity, then request query forms or download them from the Fund website (www.pensionfund.org.ls ) fill it and clarify the query then submit it to the Human Resources office or submit it to the Fund.
