Does a pensioners’ fund need a kosher investment track
Question
Shalom,
Does a pensioners’ fund need a kosher investment track?
Answer
Shalom u’vracha,
A kashrut certification is required.
Source
Explanation of the concept of a “pensioners’ fund”: During the working years, the employer deposits a monthly contribution into the employee’s personal pension fund, which accumulates on his behalf and also generates profits according to the investment track he chose. This track certainly requires kashrut supervision, since this is exclusively his own money, and he is able to withdraw it under certain conditions. When he reaches retirement age, all the money that has been accumulated is transferred into a kind of joint fund of all the pensioners who are in the same pension track and have already retired. From this fund, according to the percentage of his partnership in it (which is determined by the total amount he saved by the time he retired), he receives a monthly stipend.
Sometimes the stipend increases and sometimes it decreases (since the money in the fund continues to be invested, and the stipend allocated to him is based on an estimated future yield, which may change in practice. Likewise, the calculation of the stipend is affected by the average life expectancy: those who, unfortunately, pass away relatively early have their funds used to finance the stipends of the long-lived members in that same fund. If the average number of long-lived members has risen, the stipend decreases). This fund, called a “pensioners’ fund,” is also considered to be owned by the pensioner, who receives a stipend from it by virtue of his share in it, even though he cannot withdraw the money. Therefore, this fund, too, must be on a kosher investment track.
