Due to the fact that the retirement fund industry and retirement funds itself is heavily regulated by legislation, employers or trustees do not always have the expertise to manage their retirement fund on their own.
It is therefore the responsibility of the management committee or employer to obtain outside expertise to assist them in the management of their fund. Although an umbrella fund is managed by a board of trustees, the employer or management committee is still responsible to ensure that all requirements of the day to day functions, rule amendments, administration, services, investment performance, benefit structures, required documents, member communications, payments of contributions, etc. are dealt with in terms of required legislation.
The board of trustees make use of the administrator to check and verify that all requests, instructions and documentation is received from the employer or management committee adhere to all legal requirements and then merely acts as a "rubber stamp" to get the processes done. The employer in an umbrella fund is another "service provider" to the trustees, however, the problem of not complying impacts directly on the participating employer which leads to frustration and disappointment at the employer and its members. This often results in employers or brokers complaining about their administrator and the service they receive which is directly linked to the fact that the correct procedure or documentation is not provided by the employer or broker themselves.
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retfund@mweb.co.za
www.retfund.co.za