Niël Terblanché
The Government Institution Pensioners’ Association of Namibia (GIPAN) has voiced strong objections to the recent five percent annual pension increase, calling it insufficient and an insult to pensioners.
Josef Pieters, the chairperson of GIPAN, pointed out that the increment is 0.46 percent lower than the previous financial year’s increase, highlighting a trend of diminishing returns for pensioners.
Pieters criticized the lack of engagement between the pensioners’ association and the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) management.
“More than five months lapsed without us meeting to pave the way forward, as a newly elected national body. We would reason that the GIPF should prioritise the mutual engagement and collaboration with GIPAN, and make it a part of its social, ethical and moral duty to empower and help capacitate this association, given the fact that this body exists on their initiative,” he said.
He stressed the need for direct representation of pensioners on the GIPF Board to defend their interests and safeguard their shares in the fund.
“We are aware that we do not have any bargaining power but we know that we have a voice of over 40 000 members, and we will make our voices heard. We think that we would have influenced the unfavourable and contentious five percent increment, had we had a representative of our own on the Board,” he said.
GIPAN is also demanding representation on the GIPF board of trustees to advance the pensioners’ agenda.
“We demand representation of our own on the Board of Trustees to defend our interest and safeguard our stake in the Fund. Nowhere did we ever mandate anybody to serve as a representative on the Board on our behalf,” he said.
GIPAN was established in 2007 through the GIPF to cater for pensioners.
GIPF Chief Executive Officer and Principal Officer, Martin Inkumbi, explained that the board of trustees decided on the increment after a thorough actuarial due diligence process.
Inkumbi noted that various factors such as inflation rate, cost of living, and reasonable benefit expectations of members, alongside affordability, were considered in determining the increase.
He said that the pension increase is intended to cushion pensioners from unexpected changes in their purchasing power and ensure the long-term sustainability of the fund.
The GIPF currently has 54,484 active annuitants. The fund aims to match the Namibian Consumer Price Index (NCPI) to maintain the purchasing power of pensions over time, despite the volatile economic environment.
The GIPF, a statutory pension body established in 1989, provides guaranteed pension and related benefits to over 98,623 civil servants and employees of participating employers in Namibia.
Despite the current pension increment, the call from Pieters for more substantial increases and better representation on the board reflects ongoing concerns about the adequacy of pension benefits in the face of rising living costs.
Pieters said that GIPAN has made it its mission to advocate for the financial security and well-being of Namibia’s pensioners.
He urged the GIPF to engage more directly with the pensioners they serve and to consider more robust measures to support their needs.
