Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Namibia Building Workers Pension Fund (NBWPF) is planning a host of activities including a roadshow to educate workers in the construction industry about saving towards retirement, said the fund’s principal officer, Enwich Kazondu.
Kazondu said in a statement that the pension fund plans activities meant to encourage personal financial planning.
“This year we will once again have several initiatives, such as the annual roadshow, and training interventions to increase our members’ financial acumen to change behaviour.
“Even though employers in our industry are legally obliged to register their workers with a pension fund, it remains also important to change the sentiments and attitudes of those that will be benefiting from future retirement investments,” Kazondu said.
“Putting money aside for when we are older and more fragile and vulnerable, we are far better off if we can at least be financially independent. Ideally, we should not put ourselves into the position where our family has to take care of us in the future, especially if we consider the current high level of youth unemployment.
“It is, therefore, really important that we try to spend less now and make some financial sacrifices in order to have a better future.”
“Obviously, from our perspective, we would always highlight the importance of saving money for one’s retirement, but we are also aware that people are struggling to make ends meet on a day-to-day basis, let alone putting money aside for many years down the line.
“For that reason, we will be supporting current and potential members throughout the year to increase their financial understanding,” Kazondu noted.
The NBWPF is a defined contribution, non-commercial fund that operates as an approved umbrella pension fund for the local construction industry.
It was established in 1990 through a collective agreement between the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union (Manwu) with the objective to provide retirement and other related benefits to its members.
Manwu secretary general Justina Jonas explained that construction workers are coming from a background of not understanding financial issues, hence it is critical that the NBWPF cater for them during retirement, dismissal or retrenchment.
“Construction workers are the most vulnerable workers after retirement, dismissal or retrenchment as they have no income to cater for their basic needs during those difficult times. We all know that the sector is a fixed-term sector“Manwu, for years, has been enforcing the compliance of the collective agreement, with the aim to maintain the dignity of construction workers. This fund has proven to make a positive financial impact on workers who are registered with it,” Jonas told The Namibian.
Meanwhile, Kozondu spoke about the importance of personal financial planning, especially budgeting.
“Everyone needs to be made aware to how important it is to establish a realistic budget that clearly looks at one’s income and related spending. Equally important is to understand which outstanding debts are to be paid and after consolidation, to include that into one’s budget.
“Ideally, every budget should make scope for savings for unforeseen circumstances that can occur at any time. However, it remains important to put money aside for many years later when one is no longer in the position to earn an income.
“Initially, it can be only a small percentage of one’s income, which can increase over time, as one’s financial position improves. One important element is to remember that the employer also makes a contribution, which essentially increases one’s financial rewards and that with every payment, one’s tax liabilities reduce,” he said.
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