GIPF is a defined benefits pension fund that provides guaranteed pension benefits to its members.
GIPF is a defined benefits pension fund that provides guaranteed pension benefits to its members. This means that should liabilities of GIPF exceed its assets, (e.g. bad performance of the markets), the employer undertakes to cover the shortfall. The benefits are defined in terms of the Rules of the Fund and most of the benefits are calculated based on final average salary and years of service, which is the number of years that the member was employed by the Government or member institution and contributed to the Fund.
The scheme provides guaranteed benefits to members no matter what happens in the stock market, how long an employee lives after retirement, or whether he or she becomes disabled and unable to work. Besides the above benefits, GIPF provides funeral benefits to its members at no cost.
For any business, attraction and subsequent retention of key personnel is of strategic importance. An employee who fails to provide a competitive and comprehensive range of attractive staff benefits will soon lose key employees. GIPF provides excellent benefits to its members, which is one of the key incentives for civil servants to stay in public service. Many employees who could earn a higher salary in the private sector remain in public service because of the guaranteed pension benefits that the Fund provides upon retirement.
To offset the increasing cost of living, the pensioners have been receiving pension increases (higher than the average inflation rate) of about 10% per annum for the last 10 years.
Saving enough money is one of the most important and often difficult thing to do. Fortunately, access to retirement benefits for GIPF members is not tied to the employees’ ability to save because contributions to the fund is compulsory thus compelling employees to save indirectly. The Fund therefore makes saving easier for employees who, if left to their own devices might make inadequate retirement provision for themselves.