Retirement savings fund, NASFUND recommends that employers in PNG increase their 8.4 per cent employer component to 10 per cent.
The current employer contribution to the National Superannuation Fund sits at 8.4 percent.
This has not been revised since 2008.
Nasfund chief executive officer, Rajeev Sharma, said this was on the agenda during the CEOs’ breakfast in Lae this morning.
“If you look at Australia, employer contribution in Australia is going to be 11.5 percent from 1st of July,” he stated. “And in Australia, not only that you have 11.5 percent contribution; even if you don’t have any contribution, government pays your pension.
“In Papua New Guinea, we all need to make our own arrangements for our retirement funds. So, it is important that 8.4 percent is increased.
“There are a lot of companies now, in Port Moresby, they have started contributing 10 percent.”
Apart from suggesting to Lae-based companies that they increase their employer contributions to 10 percent, Nasfund touched on the member voluntary contribution, which is a mandatory 6 percent.
Employees can increase their contributions to 15 percent.
“Longevity is improving; it means everyone is going to live longer,” said Sharma. “Those who are young, once they reach the retirement age of 60, they will find that they will be living for the next 10-15 years. So, they need money to retire when they finish their gainful employment.”
Other main points discussed during the CEO breakfast were for all employers to contribute, excluding those with less than 15 employees, and the issue of incorrect membership details. Most areas identified to have either information missing or wrong information stated include putting the wrong date of birth, leaving the beneficiaries section blank, or writing down email addresses or phone numbers that are not working. This makes it difficult for Nasfund to engage with these members. The heads of companies were asked to assist Nasfund by putting incorrect data.