OPINIONISTA: Government was right to reject the DA’s pension reform proposal

  • 📰 dailymaverick
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 55 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 25%
  • Publisher: 84%

South Africa Headlines News

South Africa Latest News,South Africa Headlines

Fortuitously (or perhaps not), the finance committee’s rejection of the proposed DA pension reform bill comes just as the National Treasury is about to publish its own paper on a more flexible pension system.

Parliament’s finance committee has rejected the proposed DA bill that would allow pension fund members to use 30% of their pension savings as a loan guarantee, to help alleviate the financial pressure they may be experiencing due to Covid-19.

No such feasibility study accompanied the amendment bill, nor had the DA issued a discussion paper to get the retirement industry’s thoughts on the matter. From that point alone, the proposal was always likely to fail. If a loan was nevertheless granted to a person who cannot afford the repayments, as the DA envisages, it is likely that the guarantee would soon be called by the lender. This then becomes a roundabout way to access pension benefits by way of an early withdrawal, leaving a retirement funding gap that would be further enlarged by the lump-sum tax on the early withdrawal.

Our regulators and politicians have long struggled with this dilemma of competing needs. The ideal would be a system that facilitates both: immediate relief in emergencies plus also better retirement outcomes down the line. The current system allows pension and provident fund members to withdraw their savings every time they leave their employer. Per the 10X, the percentage of fund members who do so remains stubbornly high at 60%. Other studies suggest the number is closer to 80%.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 3. in ZA

South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Renowned Zimbabwean human rights activist Dewa Mavhinga has diedMavhinga documented human rights violations during the turbulent and violent final years of the Robert Mugabe government. RIP South African needs to get rid of the people in power like Zimbabwe
Source: SowetanLIVE - 🏆 13. / 63 Read more »

Renowned Zimbabwean human rights activist Dewa Mavhinga has diedMavhinga documented human rights violations during the turbulent and violent final years of the Robert Mugabe government. The DIRCO_ZA & HomeAffairsSA must immediately implement visa requirements on the following countries: 1 Somalia 2 Ethiopia 3 Zimbabwe 4 Mozambique 5 Nigeria 6 Malawi 7 Congo 8 Ghana 9 Build wall between Zim & RSA!!! PutSouthAficansFirst
Source: TimesLIVE - 🏆 28. / 59 Read more »

Renowned Zimbabwean human rights activist Dewa Mavhinga has diedMavhinga documented human rights violations during the turbulent and violent final years of the Robert Mugabe government. It's has been amazing journey with him making money from the comfort of my home, I promise Hendricksnino77 I was going to tell everyone about his is trustworthy and reliable for him his taking transaction is taking over all market. Hendricksnino77 Ok
Source: SowetanLIVE - 🏆 13. / 63 Read more »

OPINIONISTA: Sexuality education is not new or foreign to African cultureWe need to continue our cultural traditions of teaching our children to develop happy, healthy and respectful relationships that will enable them to have happy and healthy families of their own in the future. Perhaps do the education without the practicals. yptcampaign LetsTalkEUP LeviSingh6 _dinotshe
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Opposition coalitions stifled by power playsThe DA’s struggle to establish coalition governments two weeks after its mayors were installed in Gauteng’s key metros has left other opposition parties unhappy with the failure to finalise coalition deals.
Source: SowetanLIVE - 🏆 13. / 63 Read more »

Treasury to table pension system amendments for public commentThe National Treasurer is expected to table amendments before the end of December for public comment.
Source: eNCA - 🏆 49. / 51 Read more »