What happens to the money I contribute?

If you are eligible for Superannuation, every time you get paid your Employer pays a set amount of money into a Superannuation account in your name. The money is then invested by the Managers of the Fund into things like shares, property, government bonds, and cash deposits. 

Your superannuation is like a special savings account for your retirement. It's money that you save during your working years, and it's designed to provide you with income when you stop working, so you can retire with financial security and dignity.

Why does Nambawan Super invest my money?

The money Members save with Nambawan Super (NSL) is known as your contributions.

NSL invests Members' contributions to earn profit for our Members which helps grow their retirement savings over the long term so that when they retire they get back more than what they saved in their accounts.

Investing in this way helps support Members financially during retirement when they have to rely on their own savings for daily expenses.

Saving cash versus investing cash

Let's take a closer look at the diagram above. You will see different graphs: a yellow bar graph, a black bar graph, and a red line graph that intersects them.

The yellow graph represents the value of K1. If you were to deposit K1 in a bank and leave it there with plans to withdraw after 30 years, your K1 will remain at K1. It will not grow because our banks in PNG currently do not pay any interest on cash deposits.

The black graph represents the growth when you invest the same K1 in a Super Fund like Nambawan Super. Depending on the average annual interest rate, if that K1 was earning at a 7% interest rate as the example above, that K1 could potentially grow to K7 over a 30-year period through the investments made by Nambawan Super on your behalf, and the interest earned over that period of time.

In summary:

• Cash is safe but it doesn't grow when just held.
• Investing cash may generate income and capital growth.

Beating inflation

When Members save in Superannuation, most years they generally earn interest on their savings. Without this interest, Members would lose value on their savings due to inflation. Inflation causes a general increase in the price of goods and services, which reduces the buying power over time.

Referring to the same graph above, the red line graph represents inflation.

30 years ago, for example, you may have been able to purchase a packet of rice for K1. However, due to inflation (a general increase in the price of goods and services over time), that same packet of rice will now cost you about K3.50 to K4.00 today.

This underlines the importance of your K1 savings not just maintaining its current value but also increasing its value at the same rate as inflation or (with good investment returns) being able to exceed the inflation rate over the 30-year period. 

This is why, at Nambawan Super, we invest your money with the aim of generating returns that exceed the inflation rate, so when you retire, you will have the financial means to afford the same packet of rice that you enjoyed 30 years ago during your working years regardless of the price it is being sold at.

Providing good returns over the long term for Members is the primary goal of superannuation funds like Nambawan Super. We aim to help our Members maintain and increase their spending power over time against rising inflation

In Summary:

• Rising prices erode the purchasing power of cash over time.
• Investing preserves and grows cash to maintain purchasing power.

Investing for PNG's growth

While the primary purpose of superannuation is to encourage Members to save now so they can enjoy a dignified and comfortable retirement in the future, superfunds also invest Members' money to support PNG's growth. They invest in Government bonds, properties, and local businesses. These investments help fund development projects and improve business productivity, which creates jobs and provides affordable goods and services for a growing population.

Through their investments, superfunds provide capital to businesses, which in turn helps them to expand and create new job opportunities in the process. When a business expands it generally requires more skilled workers and so then often invests in the upskilling of more Papua New Guineans, which is a win-win for everyone.

Collective Investment Power

Super Funds help Members to invest in properties and businesses that they may not be able to fund on their own.

Nambawan Super manages close to K10 billion belonging to our 220,000 plus Members. While individually a Member would not be able to build a property or run a large business, together as Members of Nambawan Super, they are proud owners of key properties, companies and brands across PNG through Nambawan Super’s Investments.

If you would like to know about what these investments are, read more on our Investments page, or read more on our Investment Policies.