A Practical Guide for the Pension Fund Trustee

Trustees play an important role in the management ofthe retirement fund they are affiliated to. Sadly, manytrustees and boards fail to live up to their promise andpotential, mainly because they’re part-time trusteeswithout a complete understanding of their fiduciary, legaland compliance duties, obligations and responsibilities.Trustees are required to consult with experts on mattersthat they lack sufficient knowledge in. However, someunderstanding of the subject matter is required amongthem in order for the board to assimilate the advice thatthey are given.The purpose of this book is to combine most of the manyfields that trustees are expected to have a knowledgeof in one publication, written in easy-to-understandlayman’s language, that can serve as a guide for theaverage trustee. The various types of retirement fundsand benefits payable inside and outside of the fundare explained. Legislation with regard to minimumbenefits, the responsibility of trustees to communicateto members and other stakeholders and what theminimum requirements are for this communicationare also discussed. The role, fiduciary responsibility andduties of the board of trustees are carefully unpacked,the various pieces of legislation that the trustees deal with and the role that the rules of the fund play in the fulfilling of their duties are explained. All these are discussed and brought into perspective with the principles of good governance andethics. And to make the read so much more interesting, the book includes about 50 pages of the principles of investments that a trustee should know.This publication should make trustees and boards less reliant on advice from the so-called experts whose advice leans towards their own interest. It should enable trustees to distinguish between the many excellent, honest and hardworking advisors and the few unscrupulous ones.