Sixty-year-old Funki Uin continues his struggle in vain in Papua New Guinea as he tries to follow up over his late brother, Jhuke Uin’s, savings parked in a major national retirement fund since he died in 2019.

He has been repeatedly visiting the branch of Nambawan Super Limited (NSL) and the Public Curator’s office for the last two years since brother did not name any next of kin to inherit his life savings when he died.

The worrying fact in this story is that Funki’s plight could be experienced by the families of more than 161,500 other members who do not have a single listed beneficiary for their superannuation savings at both major funds of Nambawan Super (65,000 members) and Nasfund (96,532).

The PNG Post-Courier followed up with the Mt Hagen Public Curators office which responded stating that the superfunds must make the process easy for relatives of their members to have access to their savings.

This is not easy due to the current legal regime governing both the funds and the release of such unclaimed money in the country.

Continuous attempts to get comments from the Public Curator in Port Moresby were unsuccessful.

Uin claims he has followed proper procedures to apply for he funds of his late brother, who was a career public servant with the Southern Highlands provincial government, with no favourable response.

Governed by law
Both Nasfund and NSL stated in their responses to the Post-Courier that they were governed under the Superannuation Act 2022.

Nasfund chief executive officer Rajeev Sharma said: “Our policies and procedures are derived from the Superannuation Act which governs all superfunds (trustees), fund administrators, investment managers and stakeholders.

“As a trustee, our requirements and processes are aligned to both the Superannuation Act and the Prudential Standards to safeguard the entitlements of all members and their beneficiaries.

“As standard procedure, registered beneficiary(s) of the deceased member whose information were provided by the member whilst being an active contributor will have access to information and service.

“A beneficiary of a deceased member must ensure to provide key requirements such as the Medical Certificate of Death, Warrant to Bury, and a confirmation of employment from the most recent employer of the deceased member as verification.

“Beneficiaries are also required to provide identification (ie. valid ID or verification documents) to prove their validity.”

NSL chief executive officer Paul Sayer said: “One of the major challenges we face is that many of our members have not provided a list of their nominated beneficiaries.

Outdated information
“Or if they have, it is outdated, incomplete or has family members left out which often leads to a longer withdrawal process for beneficiaries.

“When a member without any listed beneficiaries passes away, the fund is tasked with identifying the correct people to whom the late member’s entitlements should go.

“The withdrawal process in these instances is extended to include additional verification requirements for each individual that presents themselves.

“They must provide proof of identification and proof of relation to the late member.

“The unlisted beneficiaries are also required to provide additional documents for this verification process which are then reviewed and processed by NSL before releasing the entitlements.”

Both Nasfund and NSL have encouraged their members to update their details with their respective funds.

Dale Luma and Pearson Kolo are PNG Post-Courier journalists. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A new $100 million apartment complex is coming to Manukau — Auckland’s heart of Pacific communities.

But you’ll have to be aged at least 55 to get in.

Kāinga Ora is expected to start construction of the 123 apartments in Osterley Way in March. The 16-storey tower will include 94 one-bedroom and 29 two-bedroom apartments.

The government said it was necessary to target targeting specific age groups to match an increasing demand from “older customers”.

“Kāinga Ora recognises our older customers have specific housing needs, which we are addressing through senior housing developments such as the proposed project in Manukau,” regional director for Counties Manukau Angela Pearce said.

Pearce said one in five of the agency’s homes in Counties-Manukau had someone over 65 living in it, while 670 of its homes in the area were occupied by sole tenants in the same age group.

“With an aging population, Kāinga Ora recognises the importance of dedicated senior housing where our older tenants can live well, feel safe and secure, both in their homes and the community.”

Two years on state house list
Maureen O’Meara, 75, spent two years on the state house waiting list and was renting a two-bedroom unit in Pakuranga for $420 a week until earlier this year.

“I had $17 left a week after paying the rent,” O’Meara said. “Being on a pension and paying market rent meant I didn’t have a lot of money left to live on.”

O’Meara managed to find somewhere more affordable in May after she was put in touch with Haumaru Housing, a joint venture between Auckland Council and the Selwyn Foundation.

But O’Meara said the Manukau development reflects an increasing number of people reaching retirement without a home.

“And I think there’s going to be a need for more places like it,” she said.

Age Concern Auckland chief executive Kevin Lamb said it’s important the development was close to public transport and community facilities.

“We think it’s high time older people had accommodation that is new and more appropriate for their needs.”

Big part of pension on housing
Recently-released research by Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission showed superannuitants still paying rent were more likely to be spending 40 percent or more of their pension on housing.

While long-term trends suggest more older New Zealanders are likely to still be renting in their retirement.

Te Ara Ahunga Ora director of policy Dr Suzy Morrissey said with declining home ownership rates there was a growing need for public housing and accommodation for those aged 55 and over.

“When NZ Super was introduced, it was with the underlying assumption that those accessing it would be mortgage-free homeowners,” she said.

“Today, the reality is very different. There are declining home ownership rates, more people needing to continue working longer because they still have mortgages to pay, are paying rent, or haven’t been able to save enough to retire.”

• Auckland is currently in the middle of the local body elections with a Pacific candidate, Fa’anānā Efeso Collins, one of the two top contenders for mayor of the super city.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz