10. Employee benefits
10.3 The Telkom Retirement Fund
 

The Telkom Retirement Fund was established on 1 July 1995 as a hybrid defined benefit and defined contribution plan. Existing employees were given the option to either remain in the Telkom Pension Fund or to be transferred to the Telkom Retirement Fund. All pensioners of the Telkom Pension Fund and employees who retired after 1 July 1995 were transferred to the Telkom Retirement Fund. Upon transfer, the government ceased to guarantee the deficit in the Telkom Retirement Fund. Subsequent to 1 July 1995, further transfers of existing employees occurred. As from 1 September 2009 all new appointments are on a defined contribution scheme. These members would be required to purchase their pensions from an insurance company.

The pensioner pool of the Telkom Retirement Fund only consists of pensioners and is funded through a liability-driven investment strategy. Pensioner increases are subject to affordability, targeting 70% to 100% of CPI.

Telkom guarantees any actuarial shortfall of the pensioner pool in the retirement fund. This liability is initially funded through assets of the retirement fund.

The Telkom Retirement Fund is governed by the Pension Funds Act, 24 of 1956. In terms of section 37A of this Act, the pension benefits payable to the pensioners cannot be reduced. Therefore, if the present value of the funded obligation was to exceed the fair value of plan assets, Telkom would be required to fund the statutory deficit.

The retirement fund exposes the Group to actuarial risks, such as longevity, currency, interest rate and market risks.

The funded status of the Telkom Retirement Fund is disclosed below:

   Group Company
The Telkom Retirement Fund  31 March 
2023 
Rm 
31 March
2022
Rm 
31 March 
2023 
Rm 
31 March
2022
Rm 
The net periodic retirement costs include the following components:             
Interest cost on projected benefit obligations  4 479  4 071  4 479  4 071 
Interest on plan assets  (4 502) (4 077) (4 502) (4 077)
Service cost on projected benefit obligations  614  541  614  541 
Net periodic pension expense recognised in profit or loss  591  535  591  535 
The net periodic other comprehensive income includes the following components:             
Actuarial gain/(loss) due to financial assumptions changes  2 297  (49) 2 297  (49)
Actuarial (loss)/gain due to experience adjustments  (2 306) 282  (2 306) 282 
Actuarial gain due to demographic assumptions changes  –  13  –  13 
Net periodic pension (expense)/income recognised in other comprehensive income  (9) 246  (9) 246 
Cumulative actuarial loss  (534) (525) (534) (525)
Benefit obligation:             
At the beginning of the year  40 610  36 939  40 610  36 939 
Interest cost  4 479  4 071  4 479  4 071 
Current service cost  614  541  614  541 
Employee contributions  332  292  332  292 
Benefits paid  (2 107) (2 157) (2 107) (2 157)
Transfers in  236  40  236  40 
Actuarial (gain)/loss  (2 985) 884  (2 985) 884 
Benefit obligation at the end of the year  41 179  40 610  41 179  40 610 
   Group Company
   31 March 
2023 
Rm 
31 March 
2022 
Rm 
31 March 
2023 
Rm 
31 March 
2022 
Rm 
Plan assets:             
At the beginning of the year  42 239  36 684  42 239  36 684 
Interest on plan assets  4 668  4 107  4 668  4 107 
Employer contributions  600  543  600  543 
Employee contributions  332  292  332  292 
Benefits paid  (2 107) (2 157) (2 107) (2 157)
Transfers in  236  40  236  40 
Transfer of Employer Surplus Account (ESA) to TRF  115  –  115  – 
Actuarial (loss)/gain  (3 893) 2 730  (3 893) 2 730 
Plan assets at the end of the year  42 190  42 239  42 190  42 239 
Present value of funded obligation  41 179  40 610  41 179  40 610 
Fair value of plan assets  42 190  42 239  42 190  42 239 
Fund surplus  (1 011) (1 629) (1 011) (1 629)
Asset ceiling in terms of IAS 19.64  896  1 629  896  1 629 
Net liability  (115) –  (115) – 
Interest on plan assets  4 668  4 107  4 668  4 107 
Actuarial gain on plan assets  (3 893) 2 730  (3 893) 2 730 
Actual return on plan assets  775  6 837  775  6 837 
Plan asset balance comprises:             
Equities  5 889  6 517  5 889  6 517 
Property  1 995  1 902  1 995  1 902 
Bonds  17 612  18 673  17 612  18 673 
Africa  2 845  3 139  2 845  3 139 
Cash  3 512  1 233  3 512  1 233 
Foreign investments  10 337  10 775  10 337  10 775 
Total  42 190  42 239  42 190  42 239 

Funding arrangements

The Telkom Retirement Fund pensioner portfolio's strategic asset allocation (SAA) is determined by an asset liability model (ALM) based on the fund's unique liabilities, as determined by its member data and fund rules. The SAA is a reflection of the fund's targeted post-retirement interest rate, and the investment strategy is built around the target of providing consistent annual pension increases of between 70% to 100% of CPI.

   Group Company
Included in the fair value of plan assets are: 31 March 
2023 
Rm 
31 March 
2022 
Rm 
31 March 
2023 
Rm 
31 March 
2022 
Rm 
Telkom shares 21  26  21  26 

The Telkom Retirement Fund investment strategy has been implemented through the appointment of several asset managers with local and global segregated mandates. Within these mandates, the managers are responsible for and have sole discretion of determining the asset allocation, i.e. the mix of the various asset classes used based on their investment views. In addition, a portion was allocated to Africa Equity and SA cash asset classes were added to further diversify the portfolio and to provide return enhancement.

  Group Company
  31 March
2023
31 March
2022
31 March
2023
31 March
2022
Funding level per statutory actuarial valuation (%) 100 100 100 100
The number of pensioners registered under the Telkom Retirement Fund 12 654 12 956 12 654 12 956
The number of in-service employees entitled to retire in the Telkom Retirement Fund 10 915 10 630 10 915 10 630
The fund portfolio consists of the following percentages:        
Equities (%) 14 15 14 15
Property (%) 5 5 5 5
Bonds (%) 42 44 42 44
Africa (%) 7 7 7 7
Cash (%) 8 3 8 3
Foreign investments (%) 24 26 24 26
Total 100 100 100 100

The total estimated contributions to be paid to the Telkom Retirement Fund by the employer for the year ending 31 March 2024 is R650 million.