Vidanova Pension Fund customers can rest assured of secure pension payments in their senior years thanks to the conservative but effective policies and the professional management strategies the company has developed over the years.
That was the confident message delivered to members of Vidanova’s Board of Supervisory Directors on Friday, June 6, at the end of a two-day meeting hosted by TelEm Group.
Vidanova is a multi-employer pension fund managing the pension scheme for employers and employees of all sectors in all the island of the former Dutch Netherlands Antilles.
The Board of Supervisory Directors meets each quarter, and because of the importance of St. Maarten to Vidanova, considering that one of St. Maartens’s companies is one of the founding fathers of Vidanova, one of these meetings is held on the island.
According to Vidanova’s new Chief Executive Officer, Drs. Charlene C. Alberto, the pension fund is continuing to grow each year, achieving an impressive total capital increase over the previous year of 7.14% as a result of sound investment strategies.
She says while the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten requires a funding ration of 100% as a minimum, Vidanova Pension Fund is showing its strength and can boast of a high funding ration of 117% because of excellent and professional management of employee and employer premiums.
The positive picture bodes well for Vidanova’s customers on St. Maarten who also have indexation tied to their pension plans to improve and adapt their payments. Over 2013 an indexation of 2% was
Granted, compensating in this way for increases in the cost of living.
Customers can also take comfort from the added bonus that their premiums are helping to finance important development for St. Maarten and the St. Maarten economy.
“We had a fruitful meeting in which we were able to revise our targets for the current year concluding that we are on track. We also report on a meeting held last week in Atlanta, USA, with our investment managers who handle our international portfolio, “ continued the Vidanova CEO.
She said, coming out of Friday’s meeting, board members are keen to re-assure their customers on St. Maarten on the important part St. Maarten plays in the Vidanova Pension Fund, but most importantly, that funds raised on the island are also invested locally and is not just sent to Curacao or invested in the international financial market, as many people would imagine.
“The Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten, which supervises the Vidanova Pension Fund, mandates that 60% of all pension obligations must be invested locally in Curacao and St. Maarten so that local premiums are used to stimulate the local economy, and that is exactly what we are and will continue to do.
“It is important for employees and employers on St. Maarten to know we are not a pension fund from Curacao but a pension fund for all of our sponsors, and that we are investing where they are contributing, so we are investing on St. Maarten too.”
“We have made multi-million dollar investments in the Harbour Group, In TelEm and in PJIAE. We were approached in the past to make investments in the new Government administration Building and the new parking lot, however, most to our regret, that has not materialized.
She said The Vidanova Pension fund is special because it consists of a three-tier system in which both employees and employers have an influence on the policies that are being executed on the fund.
The three tiers are made up of the Executive Board, the Board of Managing Directors and the board of Supervisory Directors.
She said all tiers were represented at the second day’s meeting including 6 representatives of employees, 4 representatives of employers and one independent chairman. Included in this group are 4 St. Maarten representatives on the Vidanova Board, Mrs. Helma Etnel and Mr. Harlec Doran of TelEm Group and Mr. Romelio Maduro and Mrs. Iris Arrindell-Hunte, of GEBE.
Drs. Alberto is the first woman to hold the Executive Director’s post at Vidanova Pension Fund since the retirement of Mr. Rafael Pichardo from that position, in December last year. Since then she has been making her presence felt throughout the organization’s diverse group of sponsors and also amongst the investment managers and advisors overseas.
She has a background of pension and investment matters, having been a manager of the APC pension fond of Curacao (the former APNA of the Netherlands Antilles) for some 10 years before her new role at Vidanova Pension Fund.
“My job is to guide the pension fund in the right direction, making sure that we can comply with our pension obligations now and in the future.
“People trust us with their money and we must be able to pay for those contributions made now at some time in the future when that pension is required.
“My predecessor, Mr. Pichardo has left behind a very strong organization, very efficient, well managed, and that is a challenge to keep up with, but the ultimate goal is to be able to pay pensions now and in the future and as CEO you have to do it your own way, putting your own mark on the organization and doing things better and better so that our customers can be statisfied with the service we provide, because that is our main focus,” said Drs. Alberto.
The Vidanova management team is currently conducting a customer satisfaction survey among all its sponsors to gauge the pension fund’s influence.
“We were very pleased with an 8.3 rating last year and we are keen to see what the rating will be one year later, but we are confident that people who are affiliated with Vidanova are happy with Vidanova,” said the Executive Director.
She says Vidanova’s sponsors on St. Maarten can rest assured that there pension premiums are managed well and that by doing that, the organization’s aim is also to provide them with excellent service while investing their premiums in the island’s eonomy
TelEm Group Chief Financial Officer, Mrs. Helma Etnel, received much thanks from the Vidanova members and delegation for hosting last week’s meeting and for providing such a warm welcome to the island of St. Maarten once again.
“As an employer it’s always great to hear about the excellent work that Vidanova is doing with the management of its pension funds from which our own employees will one day benefit, and as a board member, I am very proud to be a part of, and have learned much from this very committed and dedicated group,” said Mrs. Etnel, who also had a special word of thanks to the Independent President of the Supervisory Directors, Mr. Anthony Haile, for chairing the first day’s meeting and for his invaluable input throughout the two-day session.