Listed firms's pension funds

Listed firms's pension funds

JAKARTA (JP): Only 66 of the 260 companies listed on the
Jakarta Stock Exchange have set up pension funds, the Ministry of
Finance's director of pension funds, Sophar Lumban Toruan, said
Monday.

Toruan said most listed companies were reluctant to set up
pension funds because they were not keen to pay past service
liabilities for their employees.

He said companies had to pay past service liabilities if the
pension funds were designed to provide defined benefits for their
members but not "if they set up pension funds promising to
provide only defined contributions for their members".

He said there was no obligation for companies to set up
pension funds but urged listed companies to do so to improve
their image and to look after their employees welfare and reduce
staff turnover. (13)