PHILIPSBURG – Officials of St. Maarten’s general pension fund administrator APS are quite satisfied with the outcome of a recently held seminar for general pension funds.
The seminar was organized by Capas, which is an umbrella organization comprised of pension funds of the Dutch Caribbean, including the General Pension Fund of Curaçao (APC), the General Pension of Aruba (APFA), the General Pension fund of St. Maarten (APS), Pension Fund Caribbean Netherlands (PCN), pension funds of the MCB and CMB banks as well as Vida Nova. Several other pension funds have now also joined the umbrella organization.
The event was attended by Chairman of the APS Board Franklyn Richards, APS board member Guiliano Saturnila, APS Director Nadya van Putten and APS Adjunct Director George Willems.
This was the second such gathering, which was organized by Capas, of which APS is one of the founding members.
Held in Aruba, the annual seminar was hosted under the theme, “Power of Change” and drew about 150 participants attending the plenary and various break-out sessions. Participants representing the pension and insurance sectors of Aruba, were also joined by counterparts from Curaçao and Bonaire.
A highlight of the seminar was a presentation on economic developments experienced worldwide, and throughout the region, as well as their inevitable impact on pensions. The feature presentation was delivered by keynote speaker Dr. Philip Wagner.
The breakout sessions were coordinated by pension advisors Willes Towers Watson, Montae Caribbean, the Dutch Central Bank DNB, Aruba Growth Fund and Actuarial Consultants Caribbean (AC2) of Helma Velgersdijk.
In addition to organizing an annual seminar, Capas is engaged in preparing training for the pension sector as well as for interaction with regulators and government. Moreover, the organization seeks to strengthen cooperation between pension funds in many areas.
Capas chairperson Evelyn Kruithof-Bor said, “It is nice to see that there is so much interest for Capas and for the matters at hand.”
She noted that the organization has achieved a tremendous amount of accomplishments in just one year’s time, simply by working together and by drawing attention to those matters that affect so many people.
Next year’s seminar is slated to be held in October.
Additional information regarding Capas can be found on the organization’s website, www.pensioenkoepel.org, or by e-mail: secretariaat@pensioenkoepel.org
