If you’re an HR Professional you may be laughing at the headline…there are few managers who enjoy the task of administering pension plans in companies. It’s a quasi-legal, quasi-financial job that only a tiny handful relish. Here’s a story which is fictional, but realistic.


Carla is an HR Manager in a 300 person Caribbean company. She loves her job, for the most part.

But last week, one of the people in the parts she doesn’t like so much called. It was Robert, an account manager from her current pension management provider. He’d gotten wind that her company’s board was talking about looking for a new provider. This would hit him right where it hurts – in his monthly commission.

This was news to her, but the conspiratorial tone he used grated…”They can’t make you switch, right? They can’t do this to us – true? It’s so unfair!” It annoyed her, always. She hurried him off the call and checked her email.

He was right. An email from her boss, the head of Corporate Services, shared a directive from the board to consider alternative pension management companies.

Her heart sunk. Why? This would represent the first possible change in twenty years. The current provider was selected long before she was hired. So she didn’t know what to expect. At the very least, it could mean enduring a series of pushy, sales-account managers like Robert. The idea made her shudder.

And what would the transition be like?

The truth was, she knew nothing about pension management. It wasn’t an important part of the MSc in HRM. The little theory she learned had long been forgotten.

And it wasn’t as if Robert’s company was offering great service. She compared calling the company to visiting the tax office or department of motor vehicles. Long periods of boredom, quietly praying that nothing traumatic would show up out of nowhere and ruin a month or two.

A few days later she couldn’t put it off any longer. She began to do her research and learned that there were newer pension companies in the market which seemed to be focused on helping HR Professionals like her. One in particular seemed too good to be true. It used online technology and a customer-orientation to make the process easier and even offered objective coaching. It was if they cared about more than making a buck.

Or at least, that’s what their website advertised. It could all be a bunch of hype, she reasoned. Calm down, chill and give them a call, she coached herself.

When she got through to a customer service representative she put on her “I’m almost upset tone of voice” to prevent them from gaining the upper hand. But she was so understanding, as if she knew the situation Carla was in and stood by, ready to help – even if that provider wasn’t chosen in the end.

Now, six months later, the switch to the new provider is complete and she can actually explain why. Not that she’s an expert on pension management, but she’s no longer anxious. Instead, she’s educated.


In the past few years, COVID has interfered with many smooth-running pension plans. Some employees stopped making contributions, whole others made withdrawals. Those who left companies due to COVID were informed about next steps. Arguably, the Caribbean pension management industry has never seen such upheaval.

Where has the burden fallen? In the lap the region’s HR Professionals.

No-one understands this better than our conference sponsors, RF Bank & Trust. They offer pension management assistance in The Bahamas, Barbados, Turks and Caicos and Cayman, plus several other islands. They work hand-in-hand with HR Professionals to manage and transition programmes in ways that are stress free. It all starts with an in-depth understanding of the situation people like Carla find themselves in.

Drop them a line if you’d like to learn more about their services, and how they help HR Managers. While the stakes are high for companies and employees in all matters related to pension management, a little bit of help from the experts can go a long way!

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