NASFUND is working to enforce one account per member for its 600,000 membership base.
The superfund, in planning for these changes, will be conducting employer workshop starting in Port Moresby where 60 percent of its members are based and later to the rest of the provinces.
NASFUND is introducing a new initiative, the enforcement of ‘one member- one account’ for its members.
The merging of multiple accounts will ease the hassle members currently face in going to previous employers to obtain identification letters in accessing their retirement savings.
“This is one of the issues that has impacted our ability to provide efficient service to our members,” NASFUND CEO Ian Tarutia said.
“So to do away with this issue of members having multiple accounts, we are now moving away from having an account linked to the employer to having the account linked to the individual. So that will ease the issue of some of the delays that members face when they lodge in a withdrawal when they are entitled to receive their funds.”
The merging of the account will be locked to the member’s current employer.
Members will be required to get confirmation letters from previous employers to assist NASFUND to verify their details.
“So we go and verify that information in our system, then the next process we do is start looking at which is the oldest account,” Chief Officer Member Service Charlie Gilichibi said.
“This is because we will look at the date joined plan, that date is important because taxation is calculated based on the date you join the super. So that date will be moved forward to the current account, all your savings will be moved to the current account as well but there will be some link saying that this person previously worked with this different employer.”
In planning for these changes, NASFUND will be conducting employer workshops starting in Port Moresby to Lae, which makes up 10 percent of its membership, and the rest of the provincial centres that make up 30 percent of the total 600,000 member base.