ZAPFM seeks to create debate through magazine

ZAPFM seeks to create debate through magazine
Written by Kabanda Chulu
Monday, May 04, 2009 2:44:05 PM

ZAMBIA Association of Pension Fund Managers (ZAPFM) has launched a magazine aimed at creating a forum for debate on pension provision, processes and procedures on the payment of pension benefits.

And Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) registrar Chris Mapipo has challenged ZAPFM to consistently produce its magazine because the broad membership and pension institutions are not knowledgeable about their pension rights and other related matters.

During the launch of the quarterly magazine titled The Pension Bridge in Lusaka on Friday, ZAPFM chairman Charles Mpundu said the association has identified that poor flow of information was a critical component affecting service provision.

"This is where the Pension Bridge comes in and it has been designed to bridge the information gap between all pension stakeholders and it will also serve as a forum for debate on pension provision and services," Mpundu said.

He said the pension industry has continued to face several challenges and to many people the word pension reminds them of the many years of working.

"Sadly, in many cases, the pensioners receive very little and too late for their many years of working by way of income as the pension are in a lot of cases unable to sustain their livelihood but the good news is that the industry is changing in a number of ways," Mpundu said. "These include, the increased competition in the industry is leading to better service delivery and a call for improvements in benefit levels, more and better pension products are being introduced and improved regulatory oversight has strengthened the sector hence the bad image is rapidly changing and if government provides tax incentives, hopefully the challenges will be a thing of the past."

And Mapipo said the government attaches great importance to initiatives that were meant to share information and experiences among the stakeholders.

"It is said that 'knowledge is power' but the broad membership and pension institutions are not knowledgeable about their pension rights, processes and procedures on the payment of pension benefits so it is imperative for ZAPFM to meet this challenge by consistently producing the magazine," said Mapipo.

"Also government is in the process of finalising institutional investment guidelines that will provide specific benchmarks in the industry."