{"id":54649,"date":"2023-10-08T09:28:41","date_gmt":"2023-10-08T09:28:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/a-pension-increase-considered-as-high-cost-of-living-pressure-rises"},"modified":"2023-10-08T09:53:17","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T09:53:17","slug":"a-pension-increase-considered-as-high-cost-of-living-pressure-rises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/a-pension-increase-considered-as-high-cost-of-living-pressure-rises","title":{"rendered":"A pension increase considered as high cost of living pressure rises"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>For pensioners receiving as little as Rwf13,000 in monthly benefits, it is hard to meet their basic needs such as meals, amid the current high cost of living, according to the president of Rwanda Pensioners\u2019 Association, Dorothe\u0301e Uwimana.<\/p>\n

Small pension benefits that do not match the rise in the cost of living is a reality that the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) recognises, and is mulling over a possible solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware of the inflation, in fact, the good news is that we have been working on that for about a year,\u201d RSSB CEO Regis Rugemanshuro told The New Times.<\/p>\n

Rugemanshuro pointed out that an actuarial study was completed early 2022, and appropriate implementation of its recommendations was being considered to ensure that it does not create economic disruptions.<\/p>\n

An actuarial study is a type of evaluation of a pension fund’s assets versus liabilities to determine the funded status of a pension plan, risk management and governance, for sustainability purposes.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, he indicated, the final decision on implementation of the study’s recommendations has not yet been reached, and it involves ministries, parliamentarians and other government stakeholders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not at the point where we can put it in implementation, but it\u2019s being discussed so that anyone listening to us is assured that we are aware. We are working on it, we want to get the right answer and make sure it\u2019s implemented the best way without creating any other economic disruption,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s sure is that the particular point about potential increment on their (pensioners\u2019) current benefit is seriously being considered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The 2015 law governing the organisation of pension schemes in Rwanda provides that a public entity in charge of the pension scheme shall carry out an actuarial study for the pension scheme at least once every five years.<\/p>\n

Where the actuarial study shows a possible negative impact on the economy, the amount of contributions shall be increased based on the legal provisions.<\/p>\n

Based on the findings of the actuarial study, pension benefits may also be increased, the law stipulates.<\/p>\n

The latest pension increase was made in 2018. Among others, it more than doubled the minimum pension to Rw13,000 (from Rwf5,200).<\/p>\n

Why another pension increment is needed<\/p>\n

The president of Rwanda Pensioners’ Association, told The New Times that the pension increase effected five years ago was minor for most pensioners, especially as the cost of living went very high.<\/p>\n

Given that a kilogramme of Irish potatoes is around Rwf1,000, that of beans is more than Rwf1,000; sweet potatoes and cassava about Rwf600 a kilogramme, Uwimana said that Rwf13,000 could not suffice for a pensioner\u2019s meals per week.<\/p>\n

Yet, a kilogramme of Irish potatoes was less than Rwf10 just before 1990, and a kilogramme of meat was about Rwf100 (but it is now over Rwf4,000), which indicates how the value and purchasing power of the Rwandan franc declined over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cPension should be increased urgently to address the poor living conditions of some retirees, which stems from small benefits and high prices of basic needs on the market,\u201d Uwimana said.<\/p>\n

She indicated that retirees who are most affected by the current situation are those who worked relatively long ago, citing people who held secretary-general positions about 30 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1995, a secretary-general (in a given entity) was getting Rwf50,000 a month and was well-off, leading a decent life [because the value and purchasing power of the franc was high]. But now, they are earning a pension of Rwf30,000, or Rwf20,000 a month, which is too little to make ends meet [given that the franc depreciated],\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Performance of public pension fund<\/p>\n

According to the monetary policy and financial stability statement issued in September by the National Bank of Rwanda, assets of the public pension fund \u2013 managed by RSSB \u2013 grew by 16 per cent from more than Rwf1.2 trillion in June 2022 to more than Rwf1.4 trillion in June 2023.<\/p>\n

Data from RSSB performance highlights for the 2022\/2023 financial year show that pension and occupational hazards benefits paid out to members amounted to Rwf45.9 billion, from Rwf41.3 billion in 2021\/2022, and Rwf30.5 billion in 2019\/2020.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. For pensioners receiving as little as Rwf13,000 in monthly benefits, it is hard to meet their basic needs such as meals, amid the current high cost of living, according to the president of Rwanda Pensioners\u2019 Association, Dorothe\u0301e Uwimana. Small pension benefits that do not match the rise in the cost of living […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":54647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,29,14],"tags":[760,763,365,3826,3405,758],"class_list":["post-54649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-inflation","tag-pension","tag-rssb","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nA pension increase considered as high cost of living pressure rises - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For pensioners receiving as little as Rwf13,000 in monthly benefits, it is hard to meet their basic needs such as meals, ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/a-pension-increase-considered-as-high-cost-of-living-pressure-rises\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A pension increase considered as high cost of living pressure rises\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For pensioners receiving as little as Rwf13,000 in monthly benefits, it is hard to meet their basic needs such as meals, ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/a-pension-increase-considered-as-high-cost-of-living-pressure-rises\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-08T09:28:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-08T09:53:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/10\/sm_1696746146.005054.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"583\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/a-pension-increase-considered-as-high-cost-of-living-pressure-rises#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/a-pension-increase-considered-as-high-cost-of-living-pressure-rises\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"A pension increase considered as high cost of living pressure rises\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-08T09:28:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-08T09:53:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/a-pension-increase-considered-as-high-cost-of-living-pressure-rises\"},\"wordCount\":707,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/a-pension-increase-considered-as-high-cost-of-living-pressure-rises#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/10\/sm_1696746146.005054.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"inflation\",\"Pension\",\"RSSB\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/a-pension-increase-considered-as-high-cost-of-living-pressure-rises#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/a-pension-increase-considered-as-high-cost-of-living-pressure-rises\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/a-pension-increase-considered-as-high-cost-of-living-pressure-rises\",\"name\":\"A pension increase considered as high cost of living pressure rises - 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