By:Carmen Forster
This is the fourth installment in the series on ‘Understanding the Context of Pensions in Namibia in 2023’. Our first three articles covered Pillars 0 and 2 of the World Bank Pension Provision Model. In this article, we will focus on Pillar 1, which relates to contributory national social security retirement funds that seek to replace a portion of income and are usually sponsored by the state.
Legislative provision for Pillar 1
There is currently no Pillar 1 retirement savings vehicle in Namibia. The Social Security Act, No. 34 of 1994, (‘the Act’), however, provides for the establishment of the national pension fund (‘the NPF’). Key NPF provisions (as outlined in Section VII of Act) include the following:
● Contributions paid to as well as retirement, disability and death benefits paid by the NPF are prescribed;
● The provisions of the Pension Funds Act, No. 24 of 1956 (‘the PFA’) will not apply to the NPF;
● The NPF may grant home loans to its members in the same manner as outlined in Section 19 of the PFA; and
● Employees who are members of a pension or provident fund that was registered in terms of Section 4 of the PFA, may transfer their retirement benefits to the NPF if they are eligible to be a member of the NPF.
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