Meet the Pension Board’s three new members (part 1)

>Sylvain Rochat, Director, Certified Tax Expert, Hervest Fiduciaire SA

Why did you want to join the Pension Board?
I wanted to invest my energies in our pension fund, contribute to decision-making, and have a real influence on the future of occupational pensions in our company. I also wanted to learn firsthand how a pension fund works. Even though retirement is a ways off for me – I’ll be turning 33 this year – I feel personally invested in the future of our occupational pension system. In fact, because I’m still relatively young it feels all the more pressing.

What is your role on the Board?
I sit on three committees: Governance, Real Estate, and Audit. On the Governance Committee, we make big decisions on how the Fund is run. The Real Estate Committee is involved in the planning and high-level management of our real-estate portfolio. And the Audit Committee meets with the auditor when the Fund’s accounts are reviewed. I participate in the meetings of these committees as well as those of the Pension Board.

What challenges is the Board facing right now?
We have a number of challenges ahead of us. We need to ensure that the Fund’s capital keeps generating solid returns, and we have to fine-tune the conversion rate for pensions in step with changing life expectancies while also protecting the interests of our members with less retirement savings. We also need to pay out the best possible interest rate on working members’ retirement savings while maintaining a solid coverage ratio for the Fund. That’s essential for ensuring that the retirement system continues to work, especially for the youngest members, who may be skeptical. I also recognize that we need to raise awareness among our members and those around us about topics related to retirement planning.

Where do you see AVENA in ten years?
I want to see AVENA continue to increase its membership so we can maintain the Fund’s financial health. Also, as a member of the Real Estate Committee, I hope that AVENA will have the opportunity to further build out its portfolio of income-generating real estate in order to diversify its property holdings, which, compared to more-volatile investments in the financial markets, will bolster its financial stability.