Pensions Department and CSE target Rs. 60 mln Unit Trusts from pensioners
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) together with the Department of Pensions is targeting Unit Trusts (UT) worth Rs. 60 million being traded monthly by pensioners, top officials say.
This follows an awareness programme by the CSE in association with the department to educate pensioners on personal financial planning. “This is coming under the ‘Divi Aruna’ programme for pensioners which help them to generate some extra income for themselves,” Sunil Hettiarachchi, Director General Department of Pensions told the Business Times.
He said a dedicated information desk at the Department of Pensions will open this month to attract ‘new’ pensioners to UTs.
“We now have some 570,000 pensioners with 2,000 new pensioners added every month. We felt that the best way to help these new pensioners is to put their money in a low risk investment option rather than parking them in low return options or them getting attracted to risky investments as was seen in the past,” he said, adding that they are initially targeting 10 per cent of the new pensioners which is 200.
Mr. Hettiarachchi pointed out that some Rs. 13 billion is paid out as pensions by the department each month. “Out of this we are targeting 200 fresh pensioners, which mean roughly Rs. 60 million worth of UT on a monthly basis.” He was quick to add that this depends a lot on convincing them and attracting the pensioners, but was confident as the CSE has shown commitment towards this. “Reaching out to the community of retired persons is an extension of this course of action; to ensure that their savings are channelled in a manner that provides them the most sustainable returns.”