August 2022

Ghana. SSNIT to embark on mass registration exercise

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) says it will soon embark on a mass registration exercise, especially among those in the informal sector to shore up its membership. The prime objective is to ensure many Ghanaian workers are enrolled onto the scheme as against the current situation where only 1.7 million out of the remaining millions of the workers are active members of SSNIT. Read more Nigeria. Pension fund, contributors hit N14trn, 9m respectively – PenCom Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, the...

July 2022

IMF Engagement on Pension Issues in Surveillance and Program Work

By IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is increasingly involved in offering policy advice on public pension issues to member countries. Public pension spending is important from both fiscal and welfare perspectives. Pension policy and its reforms can have significant fiscal and distribution implications, can influence labor supply and labor demand decisions, and may impact consumption and savings behavior. This technical note provides guidance on assessing public pension systems’ macrocriticality, i.e., sustainability, adequacy, and efficiency; it also discusses the issues...

Rising life expectancy in Africa triggers urgent need for pension penetration

Governor John Rwangombwa of the Central Bank has said that the improved life expectancy in Africa is a positive factor on its own but it rings an urgent call to increase pension penetration on the continent. He was speaking during the 3rd Africa Pension Supervisor Forum that started on Thursday July 14. Started in 2019, the forum offers a platform where pension regulators share ideas, information, and reform issues that are challenging the sector across Africa. Discussions include performance of the pension...

Over 2,000 Retired Nigerian Workers Were Cut Off from Monthly Pension

Some Nigerian workers will have to live by what they have saved as their pension account failed to meet the regulatory standard The number of workers according to the National Pension Commission is over 2,000 from both the public and private There are currently over 9.67 million pension accounts in the country with a pension fund value at N34.11 trillion More than 2,084 retirees who can no longer receive monthly pension payments and who left the Contributory Pension Scheme in the first...

May 2022

Vice president commits to “significantly increase number of Ghanians in pension schemes”.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said a well-regulated and functioning pension system is a major driver for investment and development of the country. Read also Arab Pensions Conference grows into key regional platform Together with the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) and all stakeholders, Dr Bawumia said they will work together to accelerate the pace of pension acceptance through the use of digitalization, but to focus on designing and rolling out tailored pension schemes for the informal sector, such as...

China: Big Four banks to pilot private pension scheme

China's Big Four state-owned banks will launch a pilot programme for retirement savings products in several regions soon, the CBIRC has announced. The banks are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and China Construction Bank. The retirement savings products, under development by the CBIRC and the People's Bank of China, are long-term investment plans with stable yields, fit for risk-averse residents, reported Xinhua News Agency citing the CBIRC. Banks to handle pension funds of up...

Kenya. Reform laws on pensions to spur growth in savings

Whilst the Kenyan pension sector is the biggest in the region, we are yet to exploit its full potential as the penetration rate remains just about 20 per cent of the working class in both formal and informal sectors. Apart from the mention of the registration of The Kenya National Entrepreneurs Savings Trust (KNEST) during the 2022/2023 budget, a government-backed pension scheme for informal workers, there were no other proposals directed towards accelerating the development of the pension sector. There is...

April 2022

China to implement private pension system with a contribution cap of about $1,800 a year: report

China will soon start a new era of "private pensions" with the imminent implementation of a relevant mechanism, according to a report by the Shanghai Securities News published on Wednesday. The new mechanism, which is characterized by policy support from the government, voluntary participation and market-oriented operations, will be an important transformation of the current pension system that has a basic pension insurance and a corporate pension. According to the report, those who contribute to the basic pension insurance for workers...

UK. Union threatens to sue over Uber’s failure to offer ‘sharia compliant’ pension plan for Muslim majority workforce

The gig economy workers’ union has threatened to take Uber to court over its failure to offer a “sharia compliant” pension plan for its Muslim majority workforce. The App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) has threatened to sue Uber for failing to provide a pension offering that complies with the tenets of Islamic beliefs, after claiming that the firm’s failure to do so breaches UK equality laws. The ADCU called on Uber to take action within the next 14 days to...

Japan eyes expansion of workers’ insurance scheme

The Japanese government is reportedly discussing plans to expand the coverage of its employee pensions and health insurance programs to all workers in the country. The proposal will be initially handled by a government panel of experts on Japan’s social security system for all generations, The Japan Times reported. In June, Tokyo plans to decide on the direction for the insurance system covering all workers and have it reflected in its honebuto, or basic economic and fiscal policy guidelines. This follows the...