Enhanced Employee Benefits

Many large, established businesses offer employee benefits, but if you have a small business and a tight budget, you might wonder if employee benefits are really worth the cost.

The short answer? Yes, benefits matter. A good benefits programme helps you attract and retain the best employees, leads to happier and more productive workers, and ultimately can help your business to thrive. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant impact on the workforce have highlighted the importance of death, disability and funeral benefits for employees. 

Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal are the Administrators of the KwaZulu Natal Retirement and Provident Funds. The benefits contained in the Funds administered were recently enhanced at no additional cost to fund members. As a result, a significant portion of member contributions will be allocated to Fund Credit, earning investment returns for the benefit of the member instead of costs.

Current benefits include:  

1. Funeral Cover
 

2. Death Benefits of 5 X Annual Pensionable Salary 

3. Disability cover of 75% of Monthly Pensionable Salary 


Death Benefit for members over 65

Members still in service who are between 65 and 70 years old qualify for a fixed R 100, 000 death benefit plus their share of fund.

Retirement means the end of a regular income, which is why having a nest egg is vital. Let’s say your annual income was R100,000 when you were working. That means that you’ll need approximately R70,000 per year in order to maintain your lifestyle when you retire. Without adequate savings, you would either need to continue working or drastically reduce your cost of living if you plan to rely on Social Old Age Grants. 

Multiple surveys show that for many people who enter retirement without adequate savings, their main source of income is a Social Old Age Grant. 

The single most important thing you can do is start saving early. The earlier you start, the more time you have for your investments to grow and recover from the market's inevitable downturns. If retirement is decades away, it may be hard to think or care about it, however that is the best time to start saving for retirement. Even though it can be a challenge to save for the future, giving your savings those extra years to grow could make the struggle worth it. Every little bit that you save helps. 

We urge employers to test the market to ensure that the employee benefits they provide offer value for money. Contact our Employee Benefits Manager, Vishane Pramrajh or email vishane@masterbuilders.co.za for a comparison of what we can offer you versus your current fund, for the same financial contribution. 

While offering employee benefits may cost a bit more initially, the long-term advantages can greatly outweigh those costs and contribute to the overall success of your organisation. You will attract better employees and keep them around for the long haul. You’ll reap the rewards of a productive and satisfied workforce.

Put simply, an employee benefits plan is worth the cost. And remember, you don’t have to offer all available benefits from the onset. Your small business can always start with essential benefits (like pension fund contributions) and expand the employee benefits programme as your workforce grows.

Vishane Pramrajh

Employee Benefits Manager