The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) has commissioned a comparative study to determine the competitiveness of its current benefits against the market.
The study follows after members of the National Executive Committee of the Government Institution Pensioners Association of Namibia (GIPAN) raised issues pertaining to the percentage of annual increments (cost of living adjustment) to pensioners, representation on the Board of Trustees, and the possibility of extending the guaranteed period after retirement.
According to GIPF’s acting Chief Executive Officer Onno Amutenya, the study will scrutinise the Fund against local as well as regional markets and aims to answer some of the questions posed by the National Executive Committee.
“Our pensioners in general, will therefore be addressed as part of the study outcome, as the data and information derived from the study will inform the board on how to address the concerns you have raised, going forward,” he said.
Amutenya further explained that the Fund is governed by rules that are administered and overseen by the GIPF Board of Trustees, any changes to the benefits structure is proposed and approved by the sponsoring employer, which is the government.
“Such benefits proposals are informed by markets and other factors, to the benefit of our esteemed senior citizens and active members, with a long-term view,” he stated.
Meanwhile, GIPF changed its five-year strategic plan to a three-year plan for the period of 2023-2026 in a bid to mitigate the external volatility of international markets and their influences.
The Fund has paid out N$20 billion in the last five years to its members and provides retirement and ancillary benefits to approximately 98,000 members of the civil service and others serving in public institutions.
