Enill to open pension literacy programme

A Five-DAY programme, designed to provide a detailed study of the roles of administrators, advisors and professionals who affect the governance of pension plans will open at the Hilton Trinidad on January 26. The programme entitled “Advanced Pensions for the 21st Century,” will be opened by Junior Finance Minister Conrad Enill. It follows an introductory pensions programme that was held in 2003, and is intended to equip participants with the necessary tools and resources to assist them in the formulation and execution of pensions policy.

An announcement by the National Insurance Board (NIB) said the course will give instructions in the processing of revising and implementing pension legislation and regulations. It will also illustrate the methods by which policy issues relating to funded systems can be identified, as well as the regulatory and investment environment necessary for the success of these pension plans. International pensions administrator, John Conroy, will head the team of presenters for the programme to be jointly hosted by the NIB and Crown Agents Financial Services Ltd of the United Kingdom. Conroy has over 20 years’ experience in pension management and reform. Bill Birmingham, recognised consultant on pension plan development for countries such as the Russian Federation and China, and Robyn Day, locally-based partner of Eckler Partners Ltd, the largest independent Canadian-owned actuarial consulting firm on pensions and employee benefits, will also be present at the programme. Executive director of NIB, Jeffrey McFarlane, sees this partnership with Crown Agents to advance the level of pension literacy in the region, as a timely demonstration of corporate responsibility.

NIB said that being the largest provider of social security services for the national community, it recognises that for pension plan governance to be efficient, there must be initiatives to obtain feedback and increase participation in the formulation of pension policy among stakeholders. The programme targets pension managers and executives and is intended to reduce the information gap in pension and related matters within many industries. McFarlane anticipates that one of the outcomes of the programme, will be a more knowledgeable team of pension administrators who can formulate pension policies that will be of greater benefit to pensioners.
For more information on this programme,  the NIB’s website is www.nibtt.co.tt or contact edir@nibtt.co.tt.