Business
Experts & Regulators Indentify Mandatory Pension Reforms & Future Outcomes for Retirees in India
A generous basic state pension is the least a civilized society should offer those who have worked hard and saved through their whole lives. The coherent conclusion to this rising concern has been time and again answered by the government with structural modifications and introductions of pension and retirement benefit schemes. But, India’s financial security policies are yet to match the global parameters. With changes in the policy and regulatory reform, better investment options and pension plans of mutual fund, the impact on the senior citizen’s benefits and the effectiveness of the programs is yet to be measured. Understanding the significance of how good policy and delivery of public and private pension policies affects the citizens, ET Edge, an Economic Times initiative, organised the ET Edge Pension & Retirement Benefits Summit 2015 yesterday at the Sahara Star Hotel, Mumbai.
With attendance of regional & global experts from government, regulators and supervisors, academics and pension industry leaders, the summit addressed key concerns that overall help to eradicate poverty and boost shared prosperity sustainably.
The insightful Special address by Mr. Sanjay Kumar, IRS, Financial Advisor & Chief Accounts Officer, EPFO on The Future of Pension industry in India, encouraged thinking on the pension issues which will lead to a viable solution to India’s problems. He commented saying, “Savings should be planned via a clear retirement plan and we need greater financial literacy as well. Some form of forced savings via mandatory investments could be the need of the hour. Investors should start early and stay invested to get maximum benefits.”
The three Panel Discussions of the day involved dialogue on the following subjects:
- The scope of Pension Fund industry in India – Past, Present & Future
- From Direct Benefit to Direct Contribution – Linking mutual funds with retirement plans
- Incorporating the Universal Social Security System by re-inventing the regulatory frame-work in India
Providing invaluable inputs was Mr. Leo Puri, MD, UTI Asset Management Company Ltd, said “The development of a healthy Pension segment is imperative for India on two accounts – one to ensure that the retirees are able to build a substantial post retirement corpus and secondly for the growth of the Indian Equity markets. I feel that, if international pension funds can benefit from the growth of the Indian Equity markets, Indian pensioners too need to benefit from this opportunity.”
Stating the importance of implementation of effective retirement plans to provide financial security to citizens of India, Sumit Shukla, CEO, HDFC Pension Management Companysaid, “There is a wisdom today that we need one unified regulator for pension as people get confused by multiple authorities. Perhaps even one unified product could work. We need greater transparency and clarity as investors don’t know about commissions and charges for some life insurance and mutual fund products. NPS is completely clear that way as it streamlines the investment process and is clear to understand for investors.”
Speaking on the occasion, Deepak Lamba, President, Times Conferences Limited, said, “Pension reform can be hard to talk about. But this pressing matter of providing financial security that allows an Indian citizen to live a hassle free life after completion of their job tenure is a growing concern. The conclusion of the Pension & Retirement Benefits Summit has been instrumental in evaluating the efforts of the reforms on the pension funds and the retirement system as a whole. The uniqueness of equity – oriented options are certainly beneficial, but we still need to look at innovating the product & services as per global standards and incorporate healthcare benefit in the pension plan for the citizen.”
The outcome from the ET Edge Pension & Retirement Benefits Summit 2015 supplied
- C-level insights on strong corporate governance and pensionfund performance
- Understanding and learning key lessons from both public and private fund managers
- Building a better retirement outcomes for your pension funds
- Pension Reform In India: A shifting paradigm to improve retirement savings security
- Presentations and panels led by experienced practitioners
- Invaluable networking opportunities with 150+ pension funds executives and CFO’s
The ET Edge Pension & Retirement Benefits Summit 2015 was attended by many eminent speakers like Leo Puri, MD, UTI Asset Management Company Ltd, Vivek Kudva, MD, Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, Sumit Shukla, CEO, HDFC Pension Management Company, Gagan Rai, MD & CEO, NSDL eGov, P S Reddy, MD & CEO, CDSL, Sundeep Sikka, CEO, Reliance Capital Asset Management and attended by 150 + Senior level decision makers like (MD’s, CEO, CIO, CFO, HR Head, IFA, Portfolio Manager, Wealth Manager, Relationship Manager, etc.) from leading brand in India, thus giving you and your team an ideal opportunity to LEARN, NETWORK & BENCHMARK with key players in the industry.
