July 2019

26Jul

Zimbabwe. Zimdollar return hits pensions

Zimbabwe Association of Pension Funds (ZAPF) is saying the introduction of Statutory Instrument (SI) 142 has reduced confidence in policyholders and shareholders in the pensions industry that has been on recovery path during the multi-currency regime. The multi-currency regime was introduced in 2009 after a decade-long hyperinflation which eroded prescribed assets and cash at banks for pension fund members. However, it was scrapped last month by authorities. In an e-mailed response by ZAPF director-general Sandra Musevenzo, policyholders and shareholders were starting to...

July 26, 2019
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June 2019

14Jun

Zimbabwe pensioners face delay in payments amid currency row

Payments to 200,000 retirees on Zimbabwe’s public pensions scheme could be delayed this month, the national social security agency said, after a foreign currency dispute erupted between local banks and a payments software vendor. Zimbabwe is battling an extended foreign currency crisis which has affected key imports such as electricity, fuel and medicines. Many firms with foreign ownership are also struggling to repatriate dividends to non-resident shareholders. Its National Social Security Authority, a mandatory public pension scheme, said on...

June 14, 2019
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12Jun

Zimbabwe. Unclaimed pension funds reach $27m

About 50 000 pensioners have not received their pension payouts with unclaimed pension funds now amounting to more than ZWL$27 million, the industry regulator has said. Speaking during a meeting with funds trustees in Chinhoyi yesterday, Insurance and Pension Commission (Ipec) spokesperson, Lloyd Gumbo, said the regulator was worried about the substantial amount that is lying idle while the owners are probably wallowing in abject poverty. "The commission is concerned with the number of pensioners who do not know...

June 12, 2019
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March 2019

22Mar

Zimbabwe. NSSA pensioners are crying for attention

Both government and the private sector are doing something on 'hardship allowance' for their workers whilst NSSA pensioners continue to sing the blues. One Hon.MP raised the plight of the suffering pensioners in Parliament early this month but the discussion never went far, with Hon. Sekai Nzenza saying government was seized with the matter. To date the elderly NSSA pensioners are all ears hoping to hear something fruitful but the silence is alarming. Most NSSA pensioners are...

March 22, 2019
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December 2018

10Dec

Zimbabwe. IPEC endorses policyholder security

The proposed Policyholder Protection Fund for the insurance and pension industry is a welcome development as it will help assure policyholders that they will receive compensation due to them upon the occurrence of an insured event, the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) has said. The insurance and pension industry regulator said given the critical role played by insurance in the growth of the economy, it is critical that the market is stable against any market shocks or failure. IPEC’s remarks come...

December 10, 2018
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September 2018

17Sep

Zimbabwe’s Insurance And Pensions Commission (IPEC) Eyes Blockchain For Solutions

The Zimbabwean Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPC) is urging local insurance companies to make use of the ever-growing blockchain technology. Most industries are facing problems that can be solved by the blockchain technology. According to IPC, the technology will offer several advantages to the sectors. Some of the benefits are that the technology will make it easier for the companies to deal with the issues of low insurance and pensions penetration. IPC’s chairlady Mrs. Lynn Mukonoweshuro suggests that financial inclusion and...

September 17, 2018
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10Sep

Zimbabwe mulls pension reforms

Zimbabwe is proposing pension reforms as it seeks to come up with an efficient pension system, according to a draft document compiled by the Insurance and Pension Commission. This comes amid challenges besetting the industry, including low confidence levels, poor viability of pension funds, low coverage and poor corporate governance. “In view of the above challenges, the Insurance and Pensions Commission has taken an initiative to propose holistic reforms for the country’s pension sector in order to come up with an...

September 10, 2018
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September 2017

13Sep

Zimbabwe. Rhodesian pensioners in SA ‘turn destitute’ as Mugabe govt ‘scraps payouts’

Zimbabwean pensioners who served under the Rhodesian government before relocating to South Africa have reportedly turned destitute after President Robert Mugabe's government "scrapped their payouts without explanation". According to NewsDay, an organisation set up to keep track of the affected pensioners and their welfare, Flame Lily Foundation, said its 300 members aged between 78 and 101 had been "dumped" by the Zimbabwean government. The pensioners were said to have relocated to South Africa at independence in 1980. "We established a project to...

September 13, 2017
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June 2017

19Jun

Zimbabwe. Impact Investment: Powerful tool for pension funds

There is a growing trend for pensions funds to strategically invest in order to achieve their corporate societal  engagement  strategy. Impact investment, which support social change while making a financial return has become a powerful tool for institutions such as pension funds as well as insurance companies and corporates. Impact investment, a term coined in 2007, is an approach in which, financial assets are invested with two objectives in mind: The first being to achieve a financial return white the...

June 19, 2017
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16Jun

Zimbabwe: Mines Owe Pension Fund US $100 Million

Pension funds in the mining sector are owed almost US$100 million in unremitted contributions, mostly by large companies, despite an anticipated recovery in the capital-intensive industry. Mining overtook agriculture as the largest contributor to the economy more than four years ago, but the industry, like many other economic sectors, continues to default on pension contributions, blighting the retirement plans of many pensioners. Mining contributes 60% of the country's exports. According to the Mining Industry Pension Fund (MIPF) annual report for 2016, the...

June 16, 2017
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