Smart move for a Smart Future upon retirement
Great success for EuroLife’s online presentation of the Smart Future Occupational Pensions Plan
The creation and adoption of a sustainable development model should take into account social concerns which are, among other things, related to safeguarding the adequacy of people’s earnings at retirement. Wishing to be a source of security and stability for both their customers and the society as a whole, EuroLife has created the Smart Future Occupational Pensions Plan. The Plan was presented with great success during an online presentation which took place on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, and was moderated by Yiannos Moyseos, EuroLife’s Corporate & Business Insurance Manager.
The online presentation was addressed by Panicos Nikolaou, CEO of Bank of Cyprus, who said “At the Bank of Cyprus Group, we have an obligation to once again be a source of security and stability, both for our customers and for the society in general.” He added that EuroLife, created the Smart Future Occupational Pensions Plan with the ambition of restoring balance in the society, contributing towards the consolidation of the economy and offering dignity, future, and perspective to the current generation of employees who are the next generation of retirees.
In his statement, Louis Pochanis, EuroLife’s Executive Chairman, said “EuroLife assumes a leading role in the new era by creating a series of plans that meet the social need for sufficiency at retirement, by enriching our clients’ future income and by providing security and perspective”. “With Smart Future”, said Mr. Pochanis, “employers transfer the responsibility of managing the Providence Fund to EuroLife’s specialized staff, and this allows the former to focus their attention on growing their business”.
Smart Future – Αsolution of value
Presenting the new Smart Future Occupational Pensions Plan, Avraam Pekris, EuroLife’s General Manager, described it as “a true solution of value”, and emphasized that it is the result of a joint effort between two leading companies in the Cypriot market –EuroLife and BOC Asset Management.
This is an innovative plan which stands out for its flexible design. As Mr. Pekris stressed, each member has access to their personal account which is credited with both their own contributions and with the employer’s contributions. At the same time, the plan offers flexibility in transferring money from another pension provider to the contributions account, as well as in crediting the account with additional voluntary lump sums that are paid by the member. In addition, future contributions are insured until retirement in case the member suffers Permanent Total Disability.
Innovative investment options
Analyzing the investment options offered by Smart Future, Christos Kalogeris, General Manager of BOC Asset Management, underlined that the hands-off option is provided, which means that allocation percentages for amounts invested in investment funds are automatically adjusted according to each member’s personal risk/return profile, as well as according to the number of years remaining until retirement.
Elaborating on the investment policy of BOC Asset Management, Mr. Kalogeris underlined that there is a selection of passive funds through which better returns are achieved. At the same time, the choice of investments in mutual funds ensures that the investment can be liquidated at any time.
Mr. Kalogeris stressed that in the context of offering investment products according to the Company and the Group’s sustainable development policy, BOC Asset Management is creating the first ESG Pension Fund in Cyprus. Both BOC Asset Management and the Group as a whole are conscious of the international shift by which investors wish to contribute towards sustainable development by incorporating ESG (Environmental-Social-Governance) criteria into their investment choices, and are thus essentially offering their members the option to invest in a fifth fund.
It is also worth mentioning that Marios Yiannas, Executive Director of Cronje & Yiannas Actuaries & Consultants Ltd, spoke during the presentation about the value of Occupational Pensions for employees in Cypriot companies, while Dr. Ioannis Tirkides, Manager of Economic Research at Bank of Cyprus, analyzed the profile of the Cypriot economy as well as its prospects after the pandemic.