Membership criteria: Who should be eligible to join?
This is a matter of company policy and must be laid down in the rules of the fund. Some companies exclude contract workers, weekly paid staff or factory workers; others with high staff turnover prescribe waiting periods before new employees can join. The criteria for eligibility must be objectively determinable.
Once a fund is established and the eligibility criteria have been set, all existing employees meeting these criteria are invited to join. Thereafter, all new employees who meet the eligibility criteria must join as one of their terms of employment.
More about starting a retirement fund
- Legal structure: umbrella or stand-alone?
- Product: Pension or provident fund?
- Who should be eligible to join? Membership criteria
- How much should you contribute? Contribution rates
- Should you attach risk benefits to the fund?
- Who does what? Service providers
- Governance: Board of Trustees and Principal Officer
- Specifics: Fund rules
- Should you offer investment choice?
- Should you offer a preservation fund option?
The information and answers supplied in this section do not constitute advice as defined by the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 37 of 2002.
