April 2023
20Apr

South Africa ranked bottom in global pensions rankings

The South African pension system has been ranked at the bottom of a global ranking of 75 countries by financial services company Allianz. The Allianz Pension Index, published in the firm’s Global Pension Report, ranked countries based on three pillars: analysis of basic demographic and fiscal conditions; determination of the sustainability (eg funding and contribution periods) and adequacy (eg degree of diffusion and pension level) of the pension system. “With an overall score of 4.2, the South African pension system is...

April 20, 2023
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13Apr

South Africa: Grandparents Spend Their Pensions to Feed Entire Families as Food Crisis Hits Hard in Eastern Cape

As Eastern Cape communities are hit by spiralling food inflation and unemployment rates of 42.4%, the province's elderly residents are using their state pensions to look after families in crisis and often have to rely on loans in the last weeks of the month. In Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, pensioners are selling scrap metal for food as whole families rely on their grants to survive and the cost of food often leaves their cupboards bare before the end of...

April 13, 2023
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March 2023
10Mar

The Influence of Financial Literacy on Retirement Planning in South Africa

By Nyasha Tapiwa Dhlembeu, Mamekwa Katlego Kekana & Mpinda Freddy Mvita Background: A shift in the retirement planning and pensions landscape has created an enormous responsibility for individuals to plan for their retirement provision actively. Very few South Africans reach the average retirement age of 65 years with sufficient funds to sustain themselves during their retirement. Purpose/objective: Using secondary data from the 2011 South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), this study aims to examine the influence financial literacy has on the...

March 10, 2023
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February 2023
28Feb

RSA Group completes one of largest pension risk transfer deals in U.K.

RSA Group insured £6.5 billion ($7.8 billion) in liabilities for two defined benefit funds through a buy-in with Pension Insurance Corp. in one of the largest risk transfer transactions ever in the U.K. market. RSA Group, which is a subsidiary of Intact Financial Corporation, covered liabilities for 40,000 plan participants of Sal Pension Scheme and the Royal Insurance Group Pension Scheme. Intact contributed £500 million to the deal, which was accelerated by an improvement in pension fund funding levels due to...

February 28, 2023
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January 2023
26Jan

South Africa. Take-home pay falls almost 5% in December, capping off dismal year, index shows

South Africans' average take home pay declined almost 5% in December, ending a dismal year at a low point, with signs that record load shedding and rampant inflation took its toll on households, Africa's largest automated clearing house BankservAfrica said on Wednesday. Average pay, as measured in BankservAfrica's Take-home Pay Index, slipped to R14 663 in December, when more than 200 000 new jobs were added, probably reflecting the fact that many new jobs are likely to have been created...

January 26, 2023
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18Jan

South Africa. PIC refutes government pension fund insolvency claims

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which manages over R2 trillion in funds, is refuting claims circulating on social media that the Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF) is facing insolvency risks, as a result of an alleged £158 billion (R3.3 trillion) legal claim against its portfolio of assets. According to a PIC statement released on Monday, ‘Nedbank Private Wealth’, a Nedbank subsidiary previously affiliated with insurer Old Mutual, is alleged to have engaged in “bad business practices” in the UK and...

January 18, 2023
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16Jan

South Africa. Struggle war vets demand R10.5bn payout

The 2 500-strong group of Liberation Struggle War Veterans are resolute in their demand for a one-off payment of R10.5 billion in reparations, amounting to R4.2 million per individual veteran, as part of their submissions on Monday on the proposed military pension legislation. Aside from this, the former soldiers, who fought during apartheid for the freedom of black people in South Africa, are also demanding the government pay a pension of R36 million per annum, which translates into R15 000...

January 16, 2023
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November 2022
23Nov

South Africa’s government workers march across major cities for higher pay

Thousands of South African government workers took part in nationwide demonstrations on Tuesday (Nov 22) to demand a 10% increase in their salaries. Negotiations between public sector unions and the government are deadlocked. The government is resolved to unilaterally implement a 3% pay hike, which hasn't satisfied the unions. In Pretoria, workers downed tools and marched to the offices of the national treasury to submit their demands. Employment minister Thulas Nxesi, a former trade unionist, was booed by workers as he arrived...

November 23, 2022
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14Nov

South Africa. Unions and SOEs that fail to pay employee benefits are facing few to no consequences

Retirement, medical and other contributions deducted from employees’ salaries are not being paid to the relevant funds and schemes by some SOEs and unions. In a tough economic environment, unions and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are starting to default on employee benefits such as retirement fund and medical scheme contributions. And there are apparently few to no consequences for this behaviour. Earlier this week, Pension Funds Adjudicator Muvhango Lukhaimane issued a ruling against the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu)...

November 14, 2022
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03Nov

South Africa. Africa’s largest pension fund, the GEPF, is still backing SA and investments in the country

The Government Employees Pension Fund, which manages R2.24-trillion in pension savings belonging to 1.26 million public servants, is still optimistic about SA’s economy and investment prospects. It is allocating most of its capital to SA-based investments and backing state-owned enterprises. The continent’s largest pension fund is bullish about investments that are exposed to SA’s economy and has not taken a dim view on state-owned enterprises, despite many being regarded as basket cases. The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) manages...

November 3, 2022
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