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| The panel for the session titled Regulating Provident Funds and Retirement Funds was comprised of (L to R) Raynold Moveni from the Central Bank of Solomon Islands, Vilimaina Dakai of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, and Warren Staley of the Australian Prudential Regulations Authority. It was moderated by Peter Dirou, PSDI’s Senior Financial Sector Expert. PSDI co-hosted a workshop in Suva on November 2 and 2 to help identify policies Pacific island countries can pursue to secure and expand their pension systems. |
Click here to listen to PSDI's Senior Financial Sector Expert Peter Dirou interviewed on Radio Australia about the challenges Pacific countries face in securing their pension funds.
Ageing populations and revenue shortfalls from low levels of formal employment are straining public pension systems in Pacific countries. Often these systems struggle to reach their beneficiaries, provide adequate support, and do so sustainably. The workshop aimed to advance discussions around how pension funds can deliver benefits to their members in the years to come.
PSDI moderated or participated in sessions discussing the challenges Pacific pension funds face; the regulatory implications of pension funds providing additional benefits, such as health care and loans; and options for pension fund reform. Discussion on the merits of pension funds providing additional benefits contrasted this practice with trends in developed countries, where pension funds tend to focus solely on retirement products.
The workshop was co-hosted by the Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF). Sessions discussing the FNPF examined reforms enacted in 2011-2012 to secure the sustainability of the fund and the lessons these can offer other Pacific countries.