Investigating factors affecting efficiency of pension administration system in North-West province
Abstract
The study seeks to investigate the factors affecting the efficiency of pension fund system in the North West Province. Government employees in South Africa subscribe to the Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF) to preserve money for retirement. The processing of pension claims by GEPF utilises a pension case management system for processing pension pay-outs. The system was introduced as an intervention to the challenges that were raised by members about the delays in the pension pay-outs. The objective of this study was to investigate the quality of the GEPF system and to determine the factors responsible for the poor quality, including the impact of system inefficiencies on the lives of the beneficiaries in the North West province. The study explores frameworks used by other researchers to analyse pension fund management systems across the world and its impact on the lives of beneficiaries. The study adopted a qualitative research approach derived from post positivism. Data was collected using questionnaire from both customers (beneficiaries) and employees of the GPAA. The data was captured and SPSS was used to analyse the data. Key findings show that the perception of employees, and customers (beneficiaries) based on service quality, information quality and system quality concur with the notion that the pension fund system in the North West province operates efficiently and effectively. However, the study found that delays in payments of pension pay-outs were caused by employees operating the system. These key findings are supported by Delone and Maclean (2003:75) model which explains that when analysing the effectiveness of the system, these constructs must be considered. The majority of the respondents concur that the GEPF system satisfies all these constructs. The respondents have indicated that the system is easy to use, accurate and produces reports on time. With regard to the three constructs; system quality, information quality and service; the model explains that they contribute positively to how the system is used and the user satisfaction which ultimately produces net benefits for the individuals, groups and the organisation. Although customers have raised concern with delays in pension pay-outs, the study has established that the problem is not with the system per se.