The employee benefits industry in South Africa has, for the first time, a unified voice to represent its interests to other role players, following a merger of its two main representative organisations. The merger comes at a time of unprecedented
legislative and regulatory activity in the employee benefits industry.
Announcing the merger of the South African Financial Services Intermediaries Association (Safsia) and the Institute of Employee Benefits Consultants and Administrators (IEBCA), Safsia president Johan Reyneke said that the employee benefits consulting industry would in future speak with greater authority in promoting the industry.
From September 2003, the IEBCA dissolved itself as a separate association and merged with Safsia. The inaugural meeting took place on September 1.
“The employee benefits industry is at a watershed with several critical issues currently under the spotlight. There is the implementation of pension fund surplus legislation and reserve bank regulations. In addition, there is currently a review of umbrella funds, a rewrite of the Pension Funds Act and ongoing amendments to the Pension Funds Act.
“In view of the massive changes facing the industry, both organisations felt it would be beneficial to combine our resources into a unified body,” said Reyneke. Considerable synergies will be unlocked by the merger.
Safsia’s membership base consists of small to large broking firms, several of which are also employee benefit companies. The merger enables these to speak with a single voice.
“Safsia and IEBCA interact with other organisations such as the Life Offices Association and the Institute of Retirement Funds, so the merger creates a seamless interaction between the various financial services bodies.
“In particular, it has helped to unify employee benefits from a broker perspective and enables us to liaise more effectively with other industry bodies, the government, the Financial Services Board and the South African Revenue Service,” said Reyneke.
The IEBCA’s membership base of employee benefit companies includes the larger consulting and administration firms, such as Alexander Forbes, Absa Consultants and Actuaries, Aon Consulting and Glenrand MIB.
The merger has prompted an internal reorganisation of Safsia, which has merged its own employee benefits interests with those of the IEBCA to form an employee benefits executive committee, under the chairmanship of Leon Mostert of Absa Consultants and Actuaries. — I-Net Bridge