NMG Administrators Botswana has been appointed the Fund Administrator for the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF), and officially took over the administration of the fund from 1 June 2021 in line with its license from the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA).
The move is a result of NBFIRA’s 2017 regulation that all pension funds in Botswana be administered by an independent fund administrator. NMG will be handling all claims processing, member education, enquiries, statements, pensioner payroll management and many other day-to-day tasks on behalf of BPOPF.
The effect of the move on the BPOPF’s 156 000 members will be minimal, said NMG’s acting chief executive officer (CEO), Gaolatlhe Otsetswe. NMG has taken leases on BPOPF’s existing offices in Gaborone, Francistown, Jwaneng and Maun, and all services and pay points will remain exactly the same as before, according to her.
“BPOPF as a pension fund remains accountable for its members as per the provisions of the Retirement Funds Act. It is simply the administration of the Fund that has been outsourced. Your funds will still be safe, your benefits will not be affected, and you will still be a member of the BPOPF,” said Otsetswe. “The only difference is that your point of contact for enquiries, statements, claims processing, ITW8 forms and any other assistance around your pension fund is now NMG Administrators Botswana. A service level agreement between the BPOPF and NMG will ensure that all members are serviced accordingly.”
While NMG Administrators Botswana is part of the South Africa-based entity NMG Benefits and the global NMG Group, it is a 100 percent Botswana-based company. It is majority-owned by the BPOPF’s Lecha investment arm, and around 90 percent of staff are Batswana. “We are here to promote economic activity in Botswana, and to act in the best interest of the fund’s members through our knowledge, expertise and technological capability to better service members,” said Otsetswe.
