Where we’ve come from
Superannuation as we know today, started as a pension scheme on 8 June 1962 under the Papua and New Guinea Retirement Benefits Act 1960. This was set up for officers of the Public Service including teachers, other than a married female officer who was not the head of a family. This continued after independence under the Retirement Benefits Fund Act Chapter 70.
The Public Officers Superannuation Fund (POSF) was established by the Public Officers Superannuation Fund Ordinance 1971 (POSF Ordinance) which came into force on 23 December 1971. The POSF Ordinance provided for certain officers and employees of the Public Service, members of the Police Force and Approved Authorities. After Independence the Public Officers Superannuation Fund Act Chapter 66 provided for superannuation. It also excluded married woman from contributing to the Fund until 1988. The Public Officers Superannuation Fund (Amendment) Act 1988 provided an option for married female officers of the Public Service to contribute to the Fund.
In 1991, the POSF Act Chapter 66 was amended by the Public Officers Superannuation Fund Act 1990 (POSF Act 1990). The POSF Act 1990 repealed the Retirement Benefit Fund Act Chapter 70 and the Public Officers Superannuation Fund Act Chapter 66 and merged the Retirement Benefit Fund with the Public Officers Superannuation Fund. The POSF Act 1990 transferred the assets and liabilities of the former funds to the new Fund as at 1 January 1991. This Act made superannuation compulsory for all officers and employees of the Public Service without any discrimination.
In 2000, the Government of Sir Mekere Morauta, introduced sweeping changes to the financial industry. This saw the introduction of the Superannuation (General Provision) Acts 2000 (SGP Act) which brought the superannuation industry under the regulation of the Central Bank. The SGP Act provides for the Central Bank to authorise the operation of a fund as a superannuation fund where the Central Bank is satisfied that the fund has a licensed trustee, a licensed investment manager and a licensed fund administrator to operate as an accumulation fund.
The Public Officers Superannuation Fund was authorised to operate as a superannuation fund as it had Nambawan Super Ltd as the corporate trustee, Kina Investment and Superannuation Services Ltd as the Fund Administrators and Kina Fund Managers as the investment managers. The change to the superannuation industry saw the exponential growth of the fund from a K500 million fund in 2000 to a K4.1 billion fund in 2014 and continues to grow stronger every day.