News Snippet 12/2018: Fund Investment Returns

Dear Pension Fund Member

The end of the year is fast approaching – I am sure many of us are looking forward to the holiday period!

Below you will find a summary of the Fund’s investment performance for the period ending 30 September 2018. If you are not sure in which investment portfolio your pension fund is invested – you can view this on www.afonline.co.za – if you have not registered for this service previously, simply click on register and follow the instructions. You will have full access within 3 working days.

On AfOnline you can view your current fund balance. If you click on the fund balance amount (in orange) you will be taken to the member value screen. You can then click on the + sign next to the University of Johannesburg fund name to view your investment portfolio. If you click on the transaction tab – you will also see all the transactions which have taken place in your account in the fund. At the top of the page you will also find a tools button which will give you access to retirement planning and budgeting tools

I also want to take this opportunity to remind you that you can make additional voluntary contributions to the fund to increase your pension savings – please do not hesitate to discuss this option with me as it can also provide your with an additional tax deduction.

We will also be having our Fund Investment Roadshows again in February next year, the dates are as follows:
APK – Monday 25 February
APB – Tuesday 26 February
DFC – Wednesday 27 February
SWC – Thursday 28 February
In these sessions we will look at each of the investment portfolios we offer in order to assist you in selecting the most appropriate portfolio.

Please make an effort to attend. The venues for these presentations will be confirmed shortly.

Our fund benefit roadshow will be taking place from 15 to 18 April.
Our financial education sessions will be taking place from 16 to 19 September. These sessions focusses on general financial matters such as budgeting and getting out of debt.
Our retirement workshops will be held on the morning of 22 May and the afternoon of 13 August. It is compulsory for each person considering retirement to attend one of these sessions – your spouse is also welcome to attend with you!

I hope to meet all of you at these sessions!

In terms of our recent communication survey, one of the questions asked related to housing loans. Unfortunately, the UJ Pension Fund does not offer housing loans. Another comment referred to the complex benefit statements the fund issues annually – we hear you and we will see how we can simplify our statements. Thank you to all who have completed the short survey.

For those of you who would still like to participate, simply follow this link – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Y562pkPcY4Jgvd5-qE5nYRIrYrJEvGr8bWVrVL2gru0/edit

As always – if you have any pension related queries or concerns – please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,
Evette

News Snippet 11/2018: Investment Switch form and Communication Survey

Dear Pension Fund Member

As the season changes and our weather becomes warmer, I could not help but think of the different seasons we go through as we grow older.

For each season we need to plan for different things, paying our bonds and other expenses, paying school fees and off course, planning and saving enough for our retirement. As always, we are here to provide you with the assistance in this planning process.

Currently we are running our general financial education sessions. These sessions focus on:
• Understanding the basics of setting and tracking a financial plan through understanding debt and budgeting.
• Discussing the impact of changing jobs and taking fund benefits as cash, as well as the different options available to members on what to do with their fund credit.

The remaining sessions are as follows:
APK 26 September Madibeng Building Council Chambers 10:00 to 12:00
APB 25 September B Blue 9 10:00 to 12:00
SWC 27 September Room E103, Ellen Kuzwayo Building 10:00 to 12:00

Please make an effort to attend these sessions – I trust that you will find them valuable.

Following my previous news snippet, I have received several requests on how to change your investment portfolio. I have therefore attached the latest investment switch form as received from Alexander Forbes. You can simply complete the form and submit it to Alexander Forbes by e-mailing it to the e-mail address on the form. My apologies for any inconvenience caused previously as it appears that there was some confusion at Alexander Forbes regarding which form was to be used.

Please note you can change your portfolio selected at any time, but if you change this more than once a year, you will pay an administration fee.

I also take this time to remind you that you should discuss your options with your Financial Planner. If you do not have a financial planner, we have an advisor visiting each campus once a month – you can contact Fairuze Morgan on X4877 to make an appointment to see him.

As communicated early this year, we have made more LifeStage related portfolios available for you – these portfolios aim at matching your pre-retirement investment strategy to that which you will be investing in after retirement. The question you have to answer is what will I do when I retire? What type of annuity will I purchase? Where / When do I start planning this future?

We believe that our information and financial planning sessions will assist you in this process, but we require your assistance to determine if we are on the right track. Please complete a very short 4 question survey by clicking on this link https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Y562pkPcY4Jgvd5-qE5nYRIrYrJEvGr8bWVrVL2gru0/edit

Thank you for your assistance!
UJ Switch Form-2018-09-13

News Snippet 10/2018: Investment Portfolios and Performance

Dear Pension Fund Member

As a member of the University of Johannesburg Pension Fund you can select the investment portfolio into which your fund credit is invested. The performance of your investment is important in assisting you to achieve your retirement goals (please refer to Understanding your Pension Fund Benefit 1 as sent out earlier this year – attached for ease of reference). Also attached, please find our member investment choice brochure reflecting which portfolios are available to you.

In order to understand our investment portfolios, we also need to understand how these portfolios are measured. The Board of Trustees use three types of benchmarks:

1. Asset market indices directly measure the performance of the various asset classes the Fund’s asset managers may invest in, be it equity, bonds, cash or listed property both locally or offshore. The Fund’s asset manager may invest in a combination of these asset classes or in one particular asset class, as is the case with the Money Market portfolio which invests solely in cash and cash-like investments. To measure the performance of the Fund’s portfolios relative to the asset classes an asset manager may invest in, the Fund makes use of a passive benchmark which serves as a reference portfolio comprising the asset classes, and in proportions related to the investment goal of the portfolio, an asset manager may invest in.

2. Peer-relative benchmarks serve as a comparative tool to understand how the Fund’s portfolios are performing relative to other, non-Fund related, portfolios and asset managers in the market who seek to achieve the same or very similar investment goals. An example of a Peer-relative benchmark is the Alexander Forbes Global Large Manager Watch Average (GLMW Average) which reflects the average investment return of 11 asset managers who all seek to achieve a similar investment goal over time. It is an appropriate measure for the Wealth Creation portfolio as the 3 asset managers which make up this portfolio form part of the GLMW Average survey.

3. The final type of measure is an inflation-linked target. Each portfolio carries its own CPI+X% target which is related to how aggressive the portfolio is in seeking investment returns and growth of a member’s capital. The Wealth Creation portfolio is the most aggressive portfolio. It is invested the largest proportion of equity investments relative to other portfolios. The Money Market portfolio is the least aggressive as it seeks to protect and conserve a member’s capital. The difference in investment goals of the these two portfolios is captured in differing inflation-linked targets; the former carries a CPI+6% target while the latter a CPI+1.5% target.

Attached, please find the quarterly investment report containing more information regarding the fund’s investment portfolio performance.

The Trustees takes this opportunity to remind you that it is your responsibility to select an appropriate investment portfolio. As such, please discuss your options with your financial advisor.

As always – should you have any queries regarding your pension fund, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,
Evette
Member investment choice – Information brochure 2018

UJ Pen Q2 2018

News Snippet 09/2018: Trustee report

Dear Pension Fund Member

Attached, please find our annual Trustee Report for the University of Johannesburg Pension Fund.

Should you have any queries regarding this report, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Tax season has also opened on 1 July. I remind you that your pension fund contributions are included on your IRP5 from the University as this is a deduction made from your salary. Should you have a personal retirement annuity, you will have to obtain a contribution certificate from the Insurer with whom you have signed your retirement annuity contract.

We have also been receiving many completed nomination of beneficiary forms – for all of you who have been updating your details – Thank you!

I also remind you that as a member of the Fund your now also qualify for funeral benefits. These benefits are as follows:

Cover
Member R 20 000.00
Insured Spouse / Partner R 20 000.00
Child older than age 14* R 20 000.00
Child older than age 6 but under age 14 R 10 000.00
Child older than age 2 but under age 6 R 10 000.00
Child under age 2 R 10 000.00
Stillborn baby R 10 000.00

*With regard to children, please note that we will cover children up to age 25 if they are registered for full time education and therefore fully financially dependent upon you.

Unfortunately the policy will not cover extended family members.

I trust that you will remain warm in the cold weather – spring is almost around the corner!

Take care and if you have any pension related queries – please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,
Evette
UJPF – 31 December 2017 Trustee Report-FINAL

News Snippet 08/2018: Funeral Benefits

Dear Pension Fund Member

It is with great pleasure that I announce that we have put funeral cover in place for all employees participating in the UJ pension funds.

The funeral cover policy is effective from 1 July 2018 and covers you as well as your direct family members.

The funeral cover provided can be summarised as follows:

Cover
Member R 20 000.00
Insured Spouse / Partner R 20 000.00
Child older than age 14 R 20 000.00
Child older than age 6 but under age 14 R 10 000.00
Child older than age 2 but under age 6 R 10 000.00
Child under age 2 R 10 000.00
Stillborn baby R 10 000.00

Should you become disabled, this cover will continue as long as you are a member of the pension fund.

The monthly premium is R 8.80 – this premium will be deducted from the contributions made to the pension fund.

In order to ensure that all the members of your direct family is covered, we request that you ensure that your nomination of beneficiary forms are up to date. These forms should reflect your spouse/partner as well as any children. Please remember that the Pension Fund Act deems your spouse and your children (irrespective of their age) as your legal dependants for the purposes of pension fund death benefits.

Please ensure that you provide your HR business partner with the details of your children and your spouse/partner (I.e. copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates / affidavits confirming relationships) – this will assist us to ensure that we have the relevant information for potential claims and rate review purposes.

Should you have any further queries regarding this policy please do not hesitate to contact me.

If you have any suggestion on other benefits the pension funds could consider offering their members – please share these with me.

Take care and as always I hope to hear from you soon!

Kind regards,
Evette

News Snippet 07/2018: Benefit statements,Nomination of Beneficiaries and Roadshow reminder

Dear Pension Fund Member

You would have received your Infoslip benefit statement earlier this week. This summarises your fund benefits as at 31 December 2017.

This e-mail was sent out by Infoslips and is not spam.

You should be able to open you benefit statement by clicking on the attachment. You will then be prompted to provide your South African ID number – the same way you would open your salary slip. If this does not work, please remove the current infoslips program from your PC and download the newest version as per the instructions on the e-mail from infoslips.

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you to complete your Nomination of Beneficiary forms, specifically if any of your personal circumstances have changed. Attached, please find copies of these forms. You can return the completed forms to myself or your HR Business Partner or Ms Maggie Langedyk in HR. These forms are placed on your personnel file at UJ HR.

There are two nomination forms – one for the Pension Fund and one for the UJ Group Life scheme – please ensure that both are up to date and reflect your personal circumstances.
GROUP LIFE BENEFICIARY NOMINATION FORM

Pension fund Beneficiary Nomination form – Form 1 of 1

News Snippet 06/2018: Investment Roadshow

Dear Pension Fund Member

Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to attend our investment roadshow presentations. For those of you who could not make it, attached please find the slides presented by our investment consultants from Alexander Forbes.

I hope to see you all at our next road show presentations. These sessions will focus on your fund benefits. We will also have our Benefit Consultant from Alexander Forbes available should you have any queries or concerns to address to her. One-on-one appointments can be made with Fairuze Morgan at fkhan@uj.ac.za between 12:00-14:00 should you wish to discuss your benefit statement with the consultant.

The dates for these presentations are as follows:

SWC – 16 April 10:00 – 12:00 – Conference Hall
DFC – 17 April 10:00 – 12:00 – Venue to be confirmed
APB – 18 April 10:00 – 12:00 – B Blue 9
APK – 19 April 10:00 – 12:00 – Council Chambers / Conference A

You will receive your 31/12/2017 benefit statement before 30 March 2018. I also take this opportunity to remind you that you can view your current fund value online at www.afonline.co.za – simply click on register if you have not done so previously and follow the instructions.

Your benefit statement will be sent to you via e-mail. This e-mail will come from Infoslips and is not SPAM. The instructions to open the attachment (your benefit statement) will be on the covering e-mail.

I trust that you will have a wonderful weekend!

Should you have any questions, queries or concerns – please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,
Evette
UJ – Member Slides – 2018 Final – NM Version

News Snippet 05/2018: Investment roadshow reminder and tax summary

Dear Pension Fund Member

Another week has rushed to an end and so our current tax year is also ending soon…..

For those of you have did not have the opportunity to listen to Minister Gigaba’s budget speech earlier in the week, attached, please find a summary.

I also remind you that our Investment Roadshows as well as the introduction to our new Lifestage investment channels are commencing on Monday – I hope that you can make to time to join us. Here are confirmation of the presentation commencement times and venues:

APK 26 February 09:00 – Council Chambers, Madibeng
SWC 27 February 10:00 – Conference Hall, Ukhamba Building
DFC 28 February 10:00 – John Orr Building Room 2212
APB 2 March 10:00 – B Blue 9
OTS Bud 2018 National Budget 2018

Pension fund Investment Roadshow presentations Feb-March 2018

News Snippet 04/2018: Investment Roadshow Info

Dear Member
As a member of the University of Johannesburg Pension Fund, you have the option to select which portfolio your monthly contributions and fund credit are invested in. The Board of Trustees have after a long period of investigation and advice from our service providers and advisors, decided to make some changes to the current structure of the investment choice framework available to you.
Your retirement investment horizon also does not end at age 65, but will continue into retirement as long as you receive your monthly pension. It is important to also match you pre-retirement investment strategy to what you want to do with your benefit after retirement, in order to optimize one’s retirement and investment planning.
The essence of the above, is that members in a retirement fund can and do have very different needs, both before AND after retiring, and therefore the design of any member choice framework, must take cognizance of this fact. In summary, members can make the following decisions at the point of retirement:
1. Invest in a living annuity with a high allocation to equities
2. Invest in a living annuity with a low allocation to equities
3. Take their retirement benefit in cash (in whole or in part, depending on the value)
4. Invest in a life, with-profit or inflation-linked annuity
With the aim of assisting members to better align your pre- and post-retirement investment strategies, the Trustees will be making the following enhancements to the current framework

This Life-stage Portfolio will remain the default portfolio, and is best suited for a member who wishes to purchase a low equity living annuity at retirement. The following additional portfolio channels will be made available to you as member-choice options:
1. A channel for members who will be purchasing a high-equity living annuity. Members will remain invested in the Wealth Creation Portfolio
2. A channel for members who will be taking cash (at the point of retirement). Members will transition into the Money Market Portfolio
3. A channel for members who wish to guarantee their fund credit in the pre-retirement period, and prevent any investment market losses in the portfolio. Members will transition into the Capital Guarantee Portfolio
4. A channel for members who wish to purchase a life, with-profit or inflation-linked annuity. Members will transition into a new portfolio option called the Alexander Forbes Investments Protector Portfolio
The AF Investments Protector Portfolio is designed for members in the pre-retirement phase who will be purchasing a life, with-profit or inflation-linked annuity at the point of retirement. It has three integrated objectives:
1. Protect the expected income replacement value of a member’s accumulated retirement savings for retirement
2. Protect the capital value of a member’s retirement savings over 24 month periods
3. Maximise real returns (returns less consumer inflation) whilst achieving objectives 1 and 2

* It is important to note that in each year where phasing down from one portfolio to another takes place, this will take place quarterly, i.e. there will be 4 phasing events that take place in each year (currently this takes place once per year).
It is imperative that members receive the appropriate financial advice and assistance in order to make the appropriate investment decisions that are best suited to you. The Trustees have therefore put the following measures in place in order to ensure that this advice framework gets implemented.
1. 7 years before you are due to retire, a retirement planning workshop will be held, which will assist you with starting to think about what portfolio strategy is best suited to your specific circumstances. At this workshop, you will be able to make a one-on-one appointment with a certified financial planner, to discuss your specific circumstances in more detail

2. 5 years before you are due to retire, another retirement planning workshop will be held, where you will be given the option to elect the pre-retirement portfolio that is best suited to your specific circumstances. You will also be able to set up an appointment with a certified financial planner, to discuss your specific circumstances in more detail
3. A certified financial planner will continue to visit each of the University’s campuses on a monthly basis, to meet with you on a one-on-one basis. You are required to make an appointment in this regard
The Trustees would like to stress that you avail yourself of this service that will be made available to you. It is extremely important that you set up an appointment with the financial planner, BEFORE making any pre-retirement investment decisions. The impact of making the incorrect decision could affect how much money you have to live off in your retirement years.
The effective date of the above changes will be 1 February 2018.
As always, the Board reminds you that it is your responsibility to discuss your options with your financial advisor.

In the event that you have any specific queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards
Evette Vanrenen-Linford
LifeStage Channels

News Snippet 03/2018: Understanding your benefits 2

Dear Pension Fund Member

Attached, please find the next edition of “Understanding Your Fund Benefits 2”. In this edition we focus on explaining your resignation, retirement, death and disability benefits in a bit more detail.

Also attached, please find out investment returns for the period ending 31/12/2017, as prepared by Alexander Forbes. This also includes a short market performance summary.

I hope that you will find the information useful.

Take care and have a wonderful weekend.

Understanding your Pension Fund Benefits 2 UJPF