Wealth creation for employees
Indonesia's pension fund prospects are very healthy, according to Simas Lend Lease Life's President Director and BII Lend Lease Investment Services' Commissioner, Bob Bettridge.
Together, the above two companies offer a full range of solutions for creating employee wealth. Services offered range from full-service pension funds, including administration, investment and insurance through Simas Lend Lease Life, to investment only management of funds through BII Lend Lease Investment Services.
Indonesia has an advanced pension funding system. As elsewhere in the world, retirement funding will develop as a main pillar of employee welfare and for funding industrial development. Medical science continues to improve worldwide. As a result, employees live longer, spend more time in retirement and, therefore, there is a greater need for employee wealth creation during their working life to live comfortably in retirement.
Simas Lend Lease Life Pension Fund was approved by the Ministry of Finance in 1994. It is a joint venture between the Sinar Mas Group and Lend Lease Corporation from Australia. The Lend Lease Group has been managing money for over 100 years and currently manages assets in excess of A$70 billion worldwide.
Lend Lease Corporation is a leader in employee benefits for its own staff and in pension fund administration. The philosophy is now part of the DKLK Simas Lend Lease Life Pension Fund, which believes in customer investment flexibility. Investment can be done via Simas Lend Lease Life or BII Lend Lease Investment Services and also through alternative fund managers if required.
As Indonesia continues to recover, and interest rates fall, investing in cash alone for long-term wealth creation can cause financial hardships later in life. There will be a need for investment diversification. Many employees do not understand the concept of risk, return, their own investment profile and how it changes as they get closer to retirement. Bettridge sees education as an essential part of the retirement business. So, education seminars are offered to our clients and their staff, so they understand what they have.
Unfortunately, not all employees have an easy run and some do not make it to retirement, due to illness or accident. To compliment retirement funding, Simas Lend Lease Life will design extensive employee benefit programs, such as health insurance and group life insurance.
Both Simas Lend Lease Life and BII Lend Lease Investment Services are budgeting for a major increase in the pension fund business in 1999. Bettridge is convinced that pension funds will grow rapidly as the Indonesian economy continues to grow. It is a key market and a key need for all Indonesian employees.