VIDANOVA Your best option for pensions

Vidanova Pension Fund, whose inception dates back to April 25th, 1968, is a dynamic and innovative multi-employer pension fund, offering both defined benefits, as well as defined contribution pension arrangements to companies across all economic sectors from all of the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles.

Vidanova is a pension fund that can serve as an example for many other pension funds due to its proven track record in solid financial position, client orientation, team spirit, professionalism, governance and efficiency.

The Beginning
The pension fund was originally founded in 1968. In November of that year, the assets and liabilities of Stichting Pensioenfonds OGEM Nederland B.V. were transferred to the local pension fund foundation that, at that time, started operating under the name Stichting Pensioenfonds Antilliaanse Energiebedrijven (S.P.D.A.E). The first affiliated companies (the founding fathers) to S.P.D.A.E. were Curacao Electric Company (now Aqualectra), N.A.G.M. N.V (now Curgas), ELGA N.V., ELMAR (Aruba) Electricity Company Bonaire N.V. (WEB Bonaire) and GEBE Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba N.V.

The Changes
In 1977, OGEM terminated the concession to produce and distribute electricity in Curaçao. As a result S.P.D.A.E. became an independent entity. On May 2, 1991, the name of the pension fund was changed to Stichting Pensioenfonds Utiliteitsbedrijven (SPU), in order to also affiliate telecom companies with the Fund. On December 23, 2002, the name was again changed to Stichting Pensioenfonds Vidanova or Vidanova Pension Fund Foundation (Vidanova). This opened the possibility to also allow non-utility related companies to affiliate with the pension fund. From 1968 to 1976, the administration was done by Energy Company Curacao N.V. under the supervision of a board consisting of four members. In 1976, the structure was changed and the board expanded to 15 members, with two members in charge of daily operations. The current governance structure consists of a three-tier governance structure with a Board of Supervisory Directors, a Board of Managing Directors and an Operational Organization (a 100% controlled) foundation called Vidanova Pension Management Foundation. All affiliated companies (sponsors) and their employees are represented in the Supervisory Board of Vidanova.

The Growth Path
The Fund has experienced remarkable growth throughout the years. Starting with 421 participants back in 1968, the number of participants has increased to 4643 as per June 30th 2014. The number of sponsors has also grown significantly during that time, starting with six affiliated companies in 1968 to reach a milestone of 54 in mid- 2014. Despite the number of sponsors, all pension rights, or pension capital, are administered per pension arrangement, per sponsor and per participant. The number of pension arrangements has grown to a total of 15. The assets have also known a remarkable growth from ANG 4.8 million in the first year to ANG 833 million at the end of the second quarter of 2014. Throughout the years, Vidanova never had an underfunding situation. The coverage ratio, which expresses the relationship between a fund’s assets and the pensions to be paid in the future, stands now at 118% (meaning that the Fund has 18% more assets than necessary to cover its liabilities), and has always exceeded the minimum required by the Central Bank of Curaçao and Saint Maarten (100%) but also the 105% benchmark. Therefore, Vidanova is a solid fund and all pensions at Vidanova are fully financed and capitalized. The contracts between the Fund and its sponsors provide the guarantee that the financial position of an individual sponsor does not have any influence on the financial position of the Fund nor on the pension rights and pension capital of the other sponsors.

There was also an improvement in quality aspects of the Fund:

1. The annual independently conducted client satisfaction surveys returning high satisfaction scores for the Fund

2. Pension Fund Governance Compliance Scans Level of 4.3 on a scale of 1 to 5

3. Flexibility in all pension plans at contract level, sponsor and participant

4. Interface and Pension Planner through the website 5. ISO 9001-2008 certification has been in place since 1998. This certification is a proof that the Fund has a quality system in place, abides by it, and that it adopts a philosophy of continual improvement in all aspects of its business.

Vidanova’s objective is to continue growing in a controlled manner that can be managed in an optimal way in order to guarantee the pension and pension rights of all our participants.

Success factors
One of the success factors of Vidanova is its governance structure. This structure not only creates the right checks and balances, but also makes it possible for sponsors and participants to be represented in the Board of Supervisory Directors of Vidanova. This entails that through their representatives on the board, sponsors and participants are involved in the way their pension fund is managed, their premiums are invested, and the way their pension rights are being safeguard. It also creates loyalty to the Fund, which has been a very important aspect during the growth of the last decades.

The heart of Vidanova is its personnel, whom, together with the management, are in charge of executing daily tasks within the organization. This multifaceted and flexible team is a small group of professionals that produce big results.

Everyone is very proud to work for Vidanova and each one of the team members gives his/her utmost in order for the organization to maintain its position and good reputation. This made the growth Vidanova has experienced possible and has contributed to Vidanova becoming a very professional organization that has continuously implemented new innovations that are beneficial to the way we do business and to the service we provide to our clients. The personnel carries Vidanova in its heart and is proud to say, “We are Vidanova.”

The Future
The present developments in the pension world, both locally and internationally, will bring more challenges. Vidanova views these challenges as opportunities to excel and looks at the future with positivism, as the basis of the Fund is solid. As always, Vidanova is looking ahead to see what is coming in the short, medium and long term, and in a professional way continues preparing for the future. For instance, we are now preparing new pension arrangements that take into consideration some specific needs of our clients. Vidanova is a very dynamic and stable organization that, in the course of its years of existence, has proven that it deals with challenges in a professional manner. Vidanova will continue doing this for years to come to guarantee that it remains “Your best option for pensions.”

Aquarius weg 2-4
P.O. Box 527 Curacao, Dutch Caribbean
Phone: +599 9 734-4200
Fax: +599 9 736-5499
Email: helpdesk@vidanova.net
www.vidanova.net