Finance minister approves Fima roll-out, scraps retirement fund preservation rule

Finance minister Ericah Shafudah has approved the implementation of the Financial Institutions and Markets Act (Fima), excluding the contested retirement fund preservation rule. The part of the act which allows a person to access 25% of their retirement fund with the remainder retained until they reach the age of 55 has, however, been rejected. Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) chief executive Kenneth Matomola announced this on Thursday. “The minister of finance has directed Namfisa to proceed with the implementation of the Fima, however, the preservation of retirement benefits will not be implemented together with Fima. The regulation on preservation will be reworked, considering all views expressed by the public,” he said. Fima replaced the Pension Funds Act of 1956, with the new legislation having been slated to come into effect in 2022. Fima is set to regulate Namibia’s non-banking financial institutions.