Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) has moved to reassure its members and the public that it remains financially sound and fully capable of meeting all benefit obligations — despite recording N$922 million in impairment losses in its Annual Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2025. The Fund stressed that it is still fully funded at 119.69%, well above the level required to safeguard members’ pensions.
According to the Fund, a review of its investment portfolio identified several risk indicators that required impairments, including an N$815 million investment in the South African-based Signal Structured Finance Fund. In total, the GIPF made provisions amounting to N$922.2 million for investments showing “significant uncertainty” regarding their ability to recover asset value.
The bulk of the impairment relates to a tax dispute between the Signal Structured Finance Fund and the South African Revenue Service (SARS). If SARS succeeds, the Fund said, the assets held under the investment vehicle could be adversely affected.
Despite the impairment, the GIPF stressed that the impact on its overall financial standing remains limited. The provision represents just 0.4% of the Fund’s total assets and is well below the N$1.787 billion materiality threshold set by external auditors.
The Fund added that it continues to record strong investment returns, reporting net gains of N$18 billion and N$16.7 billion in the 2024 and 2025 financial periods, respectively. As of September 2025, total assets had grown to N$199.4 billion, up from N$183 billion at the end of March.
The GIPF emphasised that its diversification strategy — which includes investments across listed equities, fixed income and alternative assets both locally and internationally — remains central to its long-term sustainability. Approximately 47.6% of its assets, or N$94.8 billion, are invested in the Namibian economy, above the 45% domestic investment requirement.
The Fund highlighted that occasional losses are expected within a large and diverse investment portfolio but said these are consistently outweighed by higher overall returns.
GIPF CEO and Principal Officer, Martin Inkumbi, reaffirmed the Fund’s strong position, noting that it remains “committed to prudent risk management, strong governance, and safeguarding the retirement savings of our members.”
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