February 2026
05Feb

South Africa. Government Pensions Agency under fire over R145 million in irregular spending

The Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) is under fire after audits reportedly revealed R145 million in irregular and wasteful spending, including payments for work that was never done. The findings, reportedly linked to over R2 billion in irregular transactions, have drawn sharp criticism from the Public Servants Association (PSA) and raised concerns in Parliament about governance failures at the agency, which manages pensions for 1.7 million government employees. Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Jan de Villiers, said the findings are...

February 5, 2026
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January 2026
29Jan

Goodbye to Retirement at 60 in the South Africa

South Africa has officially moved away from the traditional default retirement age of 60, with new pension regulations taking effect from early January 2026, reshaping retirement planning for millions of workers. This shift addresses rising life expectancy, pension fund sustainability, and economic pressures, allowing retirement ages to be set by employment contracts and fund rules rather than a fixed benchmark. South Africa Pension Reforms 2026 Overview The abolition of the automatic retirement age at 60 marks a pivotal change in South Africa’s...

January 29, 2026
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November 2025
26Nov

South Africa. Military veterans pension “collapsing”

South Africa’s military veterans were promised dignity, stability, and financial relief through the Military Veterans Pension. Instead, thousands remain trapped in poverty and uncertainty as the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) and the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) preside over one of the most dysfunctional benefit rollouts in post-apartheid history, according to the Amalgamated Veterans of South Africa (AVSA). Ernest Lintnaar, CEO of AVSA, said what was meant to uplift veterans has become a crisis of unlawful deductions, lost files,...

November 26, 2025
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11Nov

Pension fund contributions overlooked by employers in South Africa

Some employers in the nation have a concerning tendency to deduct employees' pension contributions without transferring the funds to the pension fund account. This is against the law and unethical. When the sun sets, workers depend on this hard-earned money to get by. A few years ago, the African National Congress came under fire for failing to make contributions to workers' pension funds. The sheer scale of this problem is deeply troubling. As of March 31, 2025, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority...

November 11, 2025
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05Nov

South Africa. Govt backtracks: Foreign pension income stays tax-free – for now

National Treasury has halted its plans to start taxing foreign pensions – for now. Chris Axelson, deputy-general of tax and financial policy, announced that Treasury has withdrawn its amendment of the draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (TLAB), which would have deleted a section of the Income Tax Act that exempts foreign pensions from being taxed. Since 2001, South African tax residents – South Africans and foreign residents who retire in South Africa – who had worked overseas and receive foreign pensions...

November 5, 2025
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October 2025
24Oct

Kenya’s pension paradox: Growth amid low coverage

The third edition of the East African Pensions Conference and Expo opened in Nairobi on Thursday with a call to widen Kenyan’s pension coverage and curb old age poverty. Hosted by the Nation Media Group (NMG), the annual event has become the region’s platform for policy shifts to increase the number of East Africans saving for a pension and boost the value of payouts at retirement. Official data show more than 80 percent of senior citizens work for basic items, raising...

October 24, 2025
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23Oct

Over 7,000 Mozambicans working in South Africa will start receiving pensions, social security benefits in Mozambique

The Mozambican Minister of Labour, Ivete Alane, has announced that as of next year over 7,000 Mozambican nationals working in South Africa will start receiving their pensions in the country. According to Alane, who was speaking on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the National Meeting on Migrant Labour, which is taking place in Macaneta, Marracuene district, southern province of Maputo, the workers will receive their social security benefits in the country, without worrying about resorting to South Africa. “The social...

October 23, 2025
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August 2025
29Aug

Financial Literacy and Educator Behaviour: Insights from a Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

By Anrusha Bhana & Nkosinathi Princ Jali There is a substantial lack of financial literacy among educators, especially in emerging economies, which can influence personal and professional financial behavior. This study assessed whether financial literacy challenges influence high school educators' financial decision-making and behavior. An empirical study employing quantitative methodology assessed the lifestyle spending among high school educators and identified specific areas of financial literacy challenges and limitations. Data was collected randomly from a sample size of 246 out of...

August 29, 2025
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19Aug

Big tax changes for these retirement funds in South Africa

South Africans with foreign retirement funds and foreign nationals who become South African tax residents face a major shift from 1 March 2026. This follows a proposal from the National Treasury, which wants to scrap the current exemption and give SARS taxing rights over foreign retirement income. This was explained by Tax Consulting SA’s cross-border taxation legal manager, Delano Abdoll, and team lead, John-Paul Fraser. Abdoll and Fraser stressed that retirement planning is a crucial financial component for South African expatriates and...

August 19, 2025
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08Aug

South Africa. State pension plan may lead to industry consolidation

The introduction of a state pension scheme could force the pension fund industry to consolidate, Metropolitan, the fourth-largest life insurer, said yesterday. Peter Doyle, the group chief executive, said there would be a shift in the pension fund industry as a result of the government introducing a mandatory state pension scheme. In his national budget presentation, finance minister Trevor Manuel said the government would be working towards setting up a pension fund that would seek to draw in irregularly employed and...

August 8, 2025
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