An in-depth focus on retirement reform - past and future
The 2022 Institute of Retirement Funds Africa’s annual conference will examine how far the retirement sector has come and where it still needs to go
It has been 10 years since the then Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan announced a series of technical discussion papers on the promotion of retirement savings in the 2012 Budget speech.
These discussion papers in turn have led to a proposed series of much needed reforms which have been a decade in the making in terms of:-
- Reducing retirement fund costs
- Reforming the annuities market
- Preservation and portability
- Harmonising retirement fund taxation
- Pension Fund Investments
- Pension laws to be extended to all public funds
In announcing the proposed reforms the Minister noted “at the end of day government has one interest and that is to ensure that the beneficiaries of the retirement process benefit substantially from their own savings.” He emphasised that “these are structural changes and a paradigm shift.”
Add to this the Twin Peaks Governance Model and the legislated Regulation 28 and the local retirement industry has had to implement a plethora of changes and enhancements to its way of doing business.
The 2022 IRFA conference will place the implementation of these reforms under the microscope to determine how far industry has come in realising its reform and Government mandated objectives. Subject matter experts and legislators will also examine what still needs to be done and the best way of getting there/achieving the critical outcomes.
IRFA President Geraldine Fowler says of the planned conference theme and subject matter “ in South Africa, on the continent and globally, the journey of retirement reform is crucial to the success of a collective society. As an organisation the Institute of Retirement Funds Africa supports all stakeholders involved in the evolution of the retirement sector. This is why speakers and delegates at our September conference will reflect, analyse and plan forward on what still needs to be done. Crucial to the conference agenda is looking at the specifics of what is needed in terms of operational, policy and regulatory intervention to ensure that the reform initiatives benefit fund members and society as a whole.”
The conference will be held on the 5th and 6th September at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban.
