July 2025

Uganda. Insurance Industry Urged to Tap Into the Country’s Growing Pension Sector

Insurance companies in Uganda have been encouraged to design retirement-focused products to take advantage of opportunities in the fast-growing pension sector. Speaking at the inaugural Thought Leaders Forum on Pensions held at Mestil Hotel and organised by the Uganda Insurers Association (UIA), Rita Faith Nansasi, Acting CEO of the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA), said insurers are strategically placed to boost the pension system through their expertise in long-term financial planning, investment, and risk management. "Retirement remains a distant concern...

June 2025

Experts call for universal pension law as majority of Uganda’s elderly remain uncovered

Experts have urged the government to introduce a universal, rights-based pension law to protect the country’s growing elderly population, most of whom currently receive no formal support. The call was made by the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER) and Research & Action for Income Security (RAISE) during the launch of a new working paper titled “A People’s Pension: The Right to Social Security for Older Persons Comparative Perspectives from Southern and Eastern Africa. According to the paper, Uganda lacks...

February 2024

Uganda Parliament Pensions Scheme to Reduce Equity Investments in Kenya

By Kenyan WallStreet   Uganda’s Parliamentary Pensions Scheme (PPS) is considering reducing its investments in Kenya due to macroeconomic challenges. The scheme’s total equity assets stand at UShs. 24 billion, out of which two percent is in Kenya. In its most recent financials, the scheme reported a gross investment income UShs. 55 billion and total assets of 425 billion. The growth in total assets marked a significant growth from UShs. 349 billion in 2021/2022 to Shs. 425billion in 2022/2023. “We…propose to reduce...

September 2023

Uganda turns to local pension funds for funding after being blocked by World Bank

Uganda is turning to local pension funds as a survival measure following external freezing of funding from the World Bank. The EastAfrican has learnt that the government is in talks with the World Bank for the lender to rescind its decision to withhold budget support for Kampala worth Ush6.7 trillion ($1.787 billion). The bank suspended funding last month in the wake of Kampala’s decision to pass a new anti-homosexual law deemed by the West as a violation of rights of...

June 2023

Uganda’s pension sector witnesses impressive growth in assets and benefit payments

In the wake of Covid-19 lockdown measures and with rising demand for short-term access to pension money, growth in assets, investment portfolios, and benefit payments defined the health of Uganda's pension market. The total assets of the sector climbed from Ush17.8 trillion ($4.8 billion) in 2020–2021 to Ush19.9 trillion ($5.2 billion) in 2021–2022 according to the most recent statistics provided by the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority. Private fund managers controlled assets worth less than Ush3 trillion ($801 million), while the...

March 2023

Uganda: Digital Technologies Enable Women Take Charge of Their Retirement Prospects

International Women's Day is a good time to apply a gender lens to all aspects of life - not only to draw attention to the traditional challenges and gaps, but also to mark achievements and to spotlight the opportunities yet to be exploited. This year's theme - innovation and technology for gender equality - is an opportunity to reflect on the unexploited potential of ICTs, that could make women realise their dreams and aspire for higher goals. Access and use of...

July 2022

Old Age Pensions and Social Security Today: Need to Introduce ‘Time Bank’ for the Unmet Social Needs of the Elderly in Uganda

By Kibs Boaz Muhanguzi World over, many programs have been put in place to ensure reasonable welfare and relevance of the elderly senior citizens in the community. Out of these diverse programs, pensions and social security fund, and Social Assistance Grants for the Elderly (SAGE) are common. Of recent, the introduction of time banks; a non-financial, barter system of exchange, with the aim of ensuring access to the unmet social needs of the elderly people in the community has emerged....

November 2021

Uganda government shoulders more burden as Makerere University pension scheme expands

The government of Uganda is facing an additional financial burden of at least Ush60 million ($16,751) annually to cater for the expanded Makerere University Retirement Benefits Scheme that was approved by the Ministry of Finance. The Finance ministry remits 10 percent of an employee’s gross salary to the scheme, as employer contributions, and employees contribute five per cent of their gross salary. An expansion in the scheme’s membership directly leads to an increase in government’s costs in the short term....

September 2021

Retirement Benefits Sector Report 2020

By URBRA URBRA’s supervisory approach is focused on the particular characteristics of each supervised entity. The approach has key and consistent underlying themes focusing on: • a detailed understanding of the strengths, weaknesses and major risks facing supervised entities through rigorous off-site and on-site analysis, and strategic discussions with trustees and service providers; • ensuring that supervised entities are effective in their operations, and constantly demonstrate that they are financially sound and prudently managed.   Get the book here 457 views

August 2021

Uganda allows early, partial pension withdrawals to cushion economy

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has agreed to legislation allowing some workers early access to 20% of their savings held by the state pension fund, to help them absorb the economic blow from the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. Consumers in the East African nation have been hit hard by the impact of the pandemic, forcing some of them to demand that the legislature allows them to access part of their retirement savings. Read also 1 in 3 Singaporeans are worried about retirement...