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By contributing to a pension fund, your future is somewhat protected (in financial terms). The additional savings will help to avoid a huge drop in living standards when you retire. The automatic regular contributions be it from the employer or employee are relatively painless. But over the long-term with careful investing, the proceeds can be substantial. With good planning, some pension funds provide superior returns upon retirement. In addition, dependency on your children to provide for you will be reduced if one has saved enough for retirement. Gone are the days where parents needed to have lots of children in order to ensure that someone will "look after them" in their old age. Contributing to pension funds not only cultivates the savings habits it helps to contribute to the economy when the fund invests back into the country. If we look at the international scene, the growth of pension funds in international markets have been notable. In Australia for instance, the growth in Superannuating/pension assets grew more than 130% from 1991 to 1997 as more people grew wise to the need to prepare for retirement (Chart 2). Source: Insurance and Superannuation Commission Sept 1997 Malaysians are slowly moving into the scene as well. Table 2 shows there are many savings and investment schemes have been formed by employers in Malaysia. Table 2. The Saving and Investment Schemes formed by Employers in Malaysia Types of Schemes Number of Schemes Number of Companies Employees Involved Investment and Unit Trust 52 45 22,282 Workers Pension Fund 3 3 4,420 Savings Fund 61 61 25,184 Insurance Scheme 90 90 37,274 Workers Cooperative 7 70 2,784 Agriculture Scheme 1 1 900 Source: Human Resources Ministry Employers response to the workers savings campaign has so far been very positive. As at December I 997, the Labour Department has approved 214 types of savings funds and schemes, involving 92,844 workers in 202 companies in the country. It is evident that many realize the effort of contributing to pension or savings scheme as part of their retirement planning. Joining a pension fund does not merely benefit the individuals. Next week- employers can benefit pension funds as well.