Anyone who is going to accept a position on the board of management of a retirement fund has to be very aware of the responsibilities they are assuming, Maurice Harding, chairman of the Institute of Retirement Funds (IRF), says.
By mid-December 1998 all funds must have properly constituted boards of management with members having the right to elect 50 percent of board members. This means potentially about 30 000 new trustees could be appointed in the next year, many of whom have little or no experience in running retirement funds.
"They need to gain as much knowledge as possible regarding the law affecting retirement funds, financial and accounting matters, investments and retirement fund administration," Harding says.
This need has created a growing demand for the establishment of effective training courses for trustees. The Institute of Retirement Funds is putting together the basic requirements of a satisfactory training programme for management board members.