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Commentaries
Terms & definitions
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Act refers to the Superannuation Scheme Act 1989.
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Actuary
A person who is a Fellow of the New Zealand Society of Actuaries
According to the New Zealand Society of Actuaries "the Actuary's role in today's business is to:
- analyse and manage risk,
- construct financial modelling frameworks to fit particular circumstances,
- communicate complex analysis in an easily understood form for senior management,
- make calculations which take account of changes in economic and other conditions, and
- provide financial advice."
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Administration Manager
The Administration Manager is the person(s)/company to whom the Trustees have contracted some or all of the administration of the scheme. Examples of administration functions include maintenance of membership register, maintenance of cash functions, preparation of financial statements and tax return preparation and submission to Inland Revenue Department (“IRD”).
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Auditor
An auditor is a chartered accountant (within the meaning of section 19 of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants Act 1996).
A beneficiary is person(s) or the estate of a member who is eligible to receive his or her benefit when the member dies.
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Benefit
Lump sum, annuity, pension, allowance, refund or other payment arising from membership of a Superannuation Scheme.
Employers can nominate a KiwiSaver scheme for their employees to join - this is known as a chosen provider. Employees who do not choose their own savings scheme are allocated to the chosen provider instead of a default provider.
A derivative is a form of alternative investment and is utilised primarily to structure and hedge investments in order to enhance performance and reduce risk to the Fund.
A person who is engaged to work, or works, under a contract of service or apprenticeship with an employer.
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Employee Member
A person who is in the employment of the Employer. If a person has left the Employer’s service, the Employee Member will become an Individual Member.
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Employer
An employer is a person or institution that hires employees or workers who agree to allow its employees to participate in the Plan.
A forward contract is a contract entered into between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a specified future time at a price agreed today.
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Fund
A fund relates to assets held by or on behalf of the Trustee for the purposes of the Plan and includes:-
- The assets held by the Trustee at the date of the Trust Deed and subject to the trusts of the Plan;
- Any contributions paid to the Plan by Beneficiaries and Employers;
- Transfer values received in respect of Beneficiaries;
- All other property received, derived or acquired by the Trustee for the purposes of the Plan.
The Fund Manager is a person(s)/company responsible for implementing a fund’s investing strategy and managing its portfolio trading activities.
A hedge is a position established in an attempt to offset exposure to price changes or fluctuations in some opposite position with the goal of minimising one’s exposure to unwanted risk. There are many specific financial vehicles to accomplish this, including insurance policies, forward contracts, swaps, options, many types of over-the-counter (“OTC”) and derivative products and futures contracts. SuperLife uses forward contracts to hedge against its foreign currency investments.
Costs incurred for audit, compliance, governance, investment monitoring, etc.
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Investment Manager
See fund manager.
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Investment Management Fee
Investment management fee is the fee paid to the Investment manager for professional management of various securities (shares, bonds and other securities) in order to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors.
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Individual Member
An individual member is a person who has been admitted to membership of the Plan other than as an Employee of an Employer and who has not ceased to be a Member.
Refer to meaning given in the KiwiSaver Act 2006.
Means an employee member or an individual member who has a balance in his or her retirement account of more than zero.
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Membership Fee
Refers to a fee paid by Members for each type of Benefit elected.
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Mix
Mix means a named selection of the Pools in the proportions determined by the Trustee from time to time and announced to beneficiaries.
In New Zealand the retirement age is 65.
A plan means the superannuation scheme constituted and governed by the Trust Deed under which benefits are payable to beneficiaries.
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Plan Year
The period commencing on 1 April of one year and ending on 31 March in the following year.
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Pool
An investment or sector pool is the term given to a group of investments. SuperLife invests in the following pools: Cash, New Zealand Bonds, Overseas Government Bonds, Overseas non-Government Bonds, Property, New Zealand Shares, Australian Shares, Overseas Shares Hedged, Overseas Shares Unhedged. If you are a member of SuperLife you can choose to invest in any of the individual pools by creating a customised investment mix option, or you can invest in a pre-determined investment mix such as AIM30 or Ethica.
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Prospective financial information
Means information about future financial performance, future financial position, future cash flows, or future movements in equity based on assumptions about future events and courses of action.
QROPS stands for Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme under the UK Finance Act 2004 (QROPS 500208). Having QROPS status means that SuperLife is legally allowed to transfer existing UK registered pension schemes to New Zealand.
Refers to an Individual Member who is the spouse or partner of and Employee Member and in respect of whom the required contributions under the Plan shall be deducted from the Employee Member’s remuneration.
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Superannuation Scheme
A trust established by its Trust Deed principally for the purpose of providing retirement benefits to Beneficiaries who are natural persons or paying benefits to persons who are Trustees of a registered superannuation scheme or a KiwiSaver scheme.
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Switching and Exit Fee
Fee paid to Administration Manager at time of switching from one Pool to another or exiting a Fund.
A trust deed is a formal agreement between the Trustee and the Company whereby the Company vests the ownership rights to one or more assets to one or more Trustees for protection on behalf of the Beneficiaries of the Trust. It normally states the rules to which the Trustee is to operate and how the asset(s) are to be administered.
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Trustee
In relation to a superannuation scheme established under a Trust Deed, means the persons who are designated as such in the Trust Deed who have the responsibility for administering the Trusts governing the Superannuation Scheme.
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Trustee Fee
Fee paid to the Trustee. SuperLife pays the Trustee an annual fee. This fee is deducted from the investment returns before they are credited to Members Savings Account.
To view the standard SuperLife definitions that apply to the contribution and benefit schedules of employer groups and in relation to a Member, click here.
