MANAMA: With experts calling for an efficient, transparent and cost-effective way for the pension and post retirements benefits system, the GCC pension assets are close to $1.9trillion.
The experts, regulators and key note speakers on Tuesday urged for concerted efforts to enhance the scope of the pension system to pass on the retirement benefits to the society which according to an estimates at present only available to the 25% of the global population.
The 1st of its kind MENA Pensions Conference opened at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay with the opening address by Lieutenant General Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Supreme Health Council Chairman of the Hekma Society for the Retired.
Hosted by TAKAUD, the specialist provider of savings and pension solutions for the MENA region, the MENA Pensions Conference 2016 attracted over 250 delegates.
The Conference brought together, for the first time, private and public sector representatives, regional and global institutions and leading employee benefits consultants to discuss how the region can reflect global practices in pension schemes for citizens and expat workers. The Conference held under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain.
The Conference has drawn prominent speakers, including representatives of international organisations such as the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Pension Council.
Public pension entities from Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Morocco provided their perspective to the audience of distinguished and expert delegates. Delegates from across the region were joined by international delegates from the countries of Albania, Mongolia, Nigeria and Namibia.
Official Conference partners include the Economic Development Board, Bahrain Bourse, the Social Insurance Organisation (SIO) and other national institutions.
The conference speakers deliberated upon the present options beyond sole pension-provision by governments, in line with the World Bank’s three-pillar pension format.
It was noted that with the presence of substantial numbers of expatriate workers throughout the region, there is a need to ensure that this working population has access to regulated private-sector pensions, assuring them of some sort of retirement security. In many companies the End-of-Service Benefits (ESBs) for expat workers are not adequately managed in accordance with global best practices.
In GCC region alone, private sector pensions are currently a US$30 billion business. Experts have calculated that by 2023, just seven years from now, if this region invests in private and corporate pensions at a level that reflects the average of the 16 countries studied by Towers Watson in 2015, pensions will represent $1.9 trillion in assets under management, which in turn can turn the region into a super financial centre.
