The Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority has published a broad set of retirement fund standards under the Financial Institutions and Markets Act, 2021, creating the operative framework for how retirement funds must be funded, governed, administered and reported on. The standards took effect on publication in the Government Gazette on 30 April 2026 and cover, among other matters, actuarial surplus and deficit calculations, valuator reports, minimum employer contribution data, fund rules and amendments, financial soundness, dissolutions, minimum member benefits, beneficiary nomination forms, investment policy, communications, annual reporting, transfers between funds, registration and governance. The package sets several core prudential and governance requirements. A fund meets the financial soundness test only if its funding ratio is at least 100% and contributions are sufficient to maintain that position. Defined benefit funds must obtain annual valuator reports, while defined contribution funds must do so at intervals of no more than three years unless exempt. If a fund is underfunded, the board must notify NAMFISA and the sponsoring employer and either secure a payment within three months to restore full funding or put in place a NAMFISA-approved rehabilitation plan within three months that restores the funding ratio to 100% within no more than five years. The standards also prescribe minimum member benefits, annual beneficiary nomination processes, detailed annual and member reporting, quarterly contribution compliance reporting, required contents of investment policy statements and communications strategies, conditions for transfers and voluntary dissolutions, and governance rules including trustee tenure limits, auditor and valuator rotation, conflict management and risk oversight. Implementation deadlines are built into parts of the framework. Funds referred to in sections 255 and 256 of the Act must amend their rules to comply with the rules standard within 12 months of its commencement. Defined contribution funds already exempt from regular valuator investigations retain that exemption for 12 months from commencement, after which a fresh application must be made under the new exemption standard.
Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority2026-05-08
Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority issues retirement fund standards on funding governance and member disclosure effective 30 April 2026
The Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority has issued a comprehensive set of retirement fund standards under the Financial Institutions and Markets Act, 2021, effective 30 April 2026. The standards set binding requirements on funding, actuarial valuations, governance, member communications, transfers, dissolutions and registration. They require a minimum 100% funding ratio, annual valuations for defined benefit funds and remediation or rehabilitation plans for underfunded funds.