April 2024

Cyprus. State pension fund reaching critical levels

The Fiscal Council, advising the Cyprus government on economic policies, has renewed a warning call that borrowing from the Social Insurance Fund has reached critical levels, threatening to derail public finances if action is not taken. In an announcement on Thursday, it urged the government to act on the suggestions of an actuarial study, submitted to the authority earlier in the week. The authority has warned that it needs to address its dependency on the Social Insurance Fund, as it...

February 2019

Cyprus. Finance Minister warns of danger of destabilization of economy if restoring pension payments

Cyprus's economy faces the danger of destabilization as it still struggles to fully recover from the 2013 crisis, as a result of recent court decisions declaring illegal cuts to salaries and pensions of public servants, Finance Minister Haris Georgiades said on Wednesday. "Fully restoring cuts in the salaries of public employees in compliance with the court decisions involves a potential danger of destabilization of the economy", Georgiades said. Public servants had their salaries, pensions and one-off payments at retirement...

South Africa. DA to fight ANC’s attempt to nationalise private pensions

Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Sunday accused the African National Congress (ANC) government of resorting to exactly the same "desperate tactics" used by the apartheid regime when they could not raise capital in the international markets. "Reports indicate that the African National Congress is still intent on gunning for South Africans’ hard-earned pensions and retirement funds by imposing prescribed assets," DA spokesman Alf Lees said. ANC treasurer general Paul Mashatile was quoted on Sunday as having...

Cyprus to set up a single insurance and pensions supervisory authority

Cyprus will set up a new single independent insurance and pensions fund supervisory authority joining the separate authorities currently supervising the sectors, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades announced on Thursday. The announcement was made during a joint press conference with the President of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions (EIOPA) Authority Gabriel Bernardino, who backed the government’s proposal. “I am really encouraged of the announcement the Minister made today, I strongly supported it,” Bernandino said, adding that the proposal is clearly...