October 2018

16Oct

South Africa Loses QROPS Status For Expat Pensions

South Africa has dropped off the list of financial jurisdictions offering QROPS expat offshore pensions. The latest HM Revenue & Customs QROPS List published on October 15, 2018, confirms the removal of the last QROPS based in South Africa. The ABSA Group Pension Fund was the final South African QROPS. Neither ABSA or HMRC have commented about the removal. Generally, QROPS are delisted for three main reasons: HMRC is probing the administrative or tax status of the scheme The last member has drawn down on...

October 16, 2018
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03Oct

South Africa. Nearly half of SA’s workforce estimated to have no retirement plan – survey

About 41% of economically active South Africans are estimated not to have any retirement plan in place, according to a survey by 10X Investments. It defines "economically active" people as those with a monthly income of more than R7 600. The survey went out to over a million South Africans and, according to 10X, this serves as a representation of the 11.9 million economically active South Africans in the country. The survey estimates that more than 40% of economically active women across...

October 3, 2018
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02Oct

South African state pension fund’s assets grow 8.6 pct

The value of assets managed by South Africa's state-owned pension fund rose by 8.6 percent in the year to March 2018, supported by a diversified investment strategy, the fund said in its latest annual report on Monday The Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which manages pensions of civil servants and is Africa's biggest pension fund, said assets under its custody grew to 2.08 trillion rand ($147 billion) from 1.91 trillion rand the year before. "Through prudent investment decision-making, underpinned by diversification, robust...

October 2, 2018
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September 2018

20Sep

South Africa’s state pension fund invests $100 million in Afreximbank

South Africa's state pension fund said on Thursday it would invest $100 million to buy shares in African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) as part of the pension fund's plan to invest in the rest of the continent. The Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which manages roughly 1.9 trillion rand ($130 billion) of civil servants' pensions and is Africa's biggest pension fund, said it would acquire Class B shares in Afreximbank. The PIC said the investment was part of its plan to invest 5...

September 20, 2018
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06Sep

South Africa. PFA decisions can now be appealed with the Financial Services Tribunal

Until recently PFA determinations could only be taken on appeal to the High Court - at great cost - within six weeks of the decision. The Financial Sector Regulation Act, 9 of 2017 (“FSR Act”) considers the Pension Funds Adjudicator as a “decision-maker” and his/her decisions are “decisions” as respectively defined in paragraphs (e) and (d) of section 218 thereof. This section came into effect on 1 April 2018 along with the FSR Act. Thus, the tribunal is now in a...

September 6, 2018
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August 2018

29Aug

South African expats get access to international living annuity

South Africans living abroad and invested in South African retirement annuities (RAs) will be able to transfer their investment to a living annuity with full offshore exposure through investment group Sable International. On retirement, South Africans with RAs can take out a third as a lump sum and transfer the balance to a living annuity where they can draw down 2.5% to 17.5% per year. Their RAs were invested in portfolios with a maximum of 30% offshore exposure in terms of Regulation 28, and while this threshold does not apply to living annuities, most providers keep...

August 29, 2018
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29Aug

Theresa May In Africa: The Future Of Fintech In South Africa, Nigeria And Kenya

A delegation of UK fintech specialists joined Prime Minister Theresa May on her first official trip to Africa and will visit South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya to meet with entrepreneurs to establish trading and export ties in these emerging markets. Representatives from Azimo, the Financial Conduct Authority, Standard Chartered, Farm.ink, the London Stock Exchange Group and the Prime Minister’s Ambassador for Fintech were just some of the 29 leaders that accompanied May on the trip in order to forge connections...

August 29, 2018
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22Aug

South Africa Labor Unions Push for New State Pension-Manager Law

South Africa’s main labor group is pushing parliament to adopt proposed changes to laws regulating the continent’s biggest money manager, which oversees state workers’ pensions, to make it more accountable and give unions representation on its board. Parliament’s finance committee is processing the Public Investment Corp. Amendment Bill, but the Congress of South African Trade Unions fears the state’s decision to appoint a commission to investigate the fund manager’s governance and operating model could derail its adoption. The commission will...

August 22, 2018
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15Aug

South Africa. World Bank: Contributory pension fund could help SA’s poor

A contributory pension system, subsidised for poor South Africans, will impact both poverty and inequality, Parliament has heard - driving "forced savings" and helping people build assets that can be invested. Speaking to Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance (SCOF) on Tuesday, Marek Hanusch, a senior economist for the World Bank's global practice for macroeconomics, shared the organisation's proposed model to address poverty and inequality. The model is based on research in the World Bank's book An incomplete transition: Overcoming the...

August 15, 2018
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July 2018

13Jul

South Africa. Public servants cash out pension then return to work: report

Public servants are resigning to cash out their pensions only to rejoin the public service, according to a report by the public service commission. The commission on Wednesday released its report on efficiency and effectiveness in the public service for the period between January 1 and March 31 2018. It observed a “lack of control” of resignations by public servants to cash out their pensions. The commission has recommended to the Department of Public Service and Administration and the Government...

July 13, 2018
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