January 2021

20Jan

OECD launches MENA Pension Oultook report for the fisrt time

In the first pensions forum for OECD in the Arab World, the global economic think-tank says: ➢ The world needs to improve sustainability and increase flexibility in pension arrangements ➢ Coronavirus is causing an unprecedented shock to labor markets as well as to pension systems ➢ Even before COVID-19, pension funds were already facing significant challenges of an aging population and declining investment returns ➢ Pension systems could be more resilient to future challenges if pension funds include two accounts, one for retirement...

January 20, 2021
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19Jan

Kenya. Pensions holding in State bonds crosses historic Sh1 trillion mark

Pension funds have raised their holding in government debt past the Sh1 trillion mark for the first time ever, new data shows, on the back of volatility in the securities market. The returns-chasing funds doubled their investments in government securities in the six months to December 31, stashing in Sh133.33 billion compared to Sh52.29 billion in a similar period of the previous year — an equivalent of a 154.98 percent jump. Also Read: OECD launches MENA Pension Oultook report...

January 19, 2021
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December 2020

09Dec

Kenya. Selling pension to millennials changing jobs

Like most African countries, Kenya boasts a youthful population of about 75.1 percent persons below 35 years (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2019 census). However, pension uptake by this demographic has been low, yet the youth have the benefit of enjoying the power of compounded interest over a longer saving period. With unemployment rates in Kenya being at about 39.1 percent, most millennials live from hand to mouth and those employed are driven by consumption and peer pressure with little...

December 9, 2020
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October 2020

22Oct

Kenya mulls reforms to attract pension funds to invest in infrastructure projects

Kenya mulls reforms to attract pension funds to invest in infrastructure projects. Kenya is considering a number of legal reforms in order to attract both foreign and domestic pension funds to invest in infrastructure projects, a government official said on Wednesday. Julius Muia principal secretary, National Treasury told a virtual meeting that the government is keen to tap on private sector resources in order to close the infrastructure funding gap. "If there are laws or policies that will make it easier for...

October 22, 2020
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19Oct

Kenya.Pension Bill for Members of Council Assembly gets governors’ backing

Governors will support MCAs in their push for a law that will give them pension after service. Read also Kenya mulls reforms to attract pension funds to invest in infrastructure projects The new legislation that is developed by the Council of Governors on the welfare of governors and deputy governors will also cover county assembly speakers and MCAs. Read also US. Pension Fund Freezes New Investment With Apollo Over Founder’s Epstein Ties Council of Governors chairman Wycliffe Oparanya said the proposed...

October 19, 2020
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September 2020

25Sep

Kenya. Workers can now access pensions to buy house

Workers can now access up to Sh7 million or a maximum of 40 percent of their retirement savings to buy their first residential house after Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani signed the amended regulations. Pension schemes have until September 14, 2021 to amend their rules to allow their members early to access their savings for house purchase. The law is meant to boost home ownership in a market where most people employed in the formal sector are unable to raise...

September 25, 2020
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August 2020

19Aug

Kenya. Urgent: Protect pension funds

How safe is your pension? I think Kenyans who contribute money to individual pension schemes are badly exposed. Last week, a whistle-blower, who is an employee of a leading pensions administrator, visited my office, where he proceeded to dump a heap of documents including multi-year audited accounts, balances of member contributions and statements of individual contributors. The whistle-blower’s intention was to show me how the directors of the company had devised clever schemes to steal hard-earned savings of unwitting...

August 19, 2020
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06Aug

Kenya launches contributory pension scheme for government workers

Kenya launched a contributory pension scheme for hundreds of thousands of government workers on Wednesday, to prevent a crisis in the government’s finances from growing retirement obligations. The East African nation, which is facing reduced tax revenue due to the coronavirus crisis and ballooning debt repayments, has been spending 2.9% of its annual budget on pensions payments, the ministry of finance said, in a plan that does not involve contributions by individual workers. Read also Nigeria. Operators invest N55.25bn...

August 6, 2020
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June 2020

24Jun

Kenya proposes CMA to regulate private equity firms

Kenya, a popular investment destination for private equity (PE) firms, has proposed measures to make the operations of PE firms and venture capitalists more transparent by bringing them under the scrutiny of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). Read also The Mixed Case for Private Equity in Retirement Plans The plan is already causing disquiet among PE firms whose fund raising and choice of companies to invest in is often shrouded in secrecy. The measures were announced by the National Treasury...

June 24, 2020
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12Jun

Kenya. Pensions holdings in bonds up Sh92 billion

Pension funds have raised holdings of government debt by Sh92 billion since the beginning of the year, turning to the securities for assured yields at a time equities and property have taken a beating from the pandemic. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows the funds now account for 29.46 per cent of government domestic debt, which at the end of May stood at Sh3.155 trillion. This translates to holdings worth Sh929.7 billion for the pension funds. At...

June 12, 2020
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