Zimbabweans may have to wait longer for compensation after the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) announced that none of the 1 249 complete submissions for pre-2009 compensation schemes were approved due to non-compliance with Statutory Instrument 162 of 2023.
Consequently, the initially planned payments starting in March 2024 will be impossible.
Last year, in September 2023, the government enacted the Pensions and Provident Funds (Compensation for Loss of Pre-2009 Value of Pension Benefits) Regulations, 2023, through Statutory Instrument 162 of 2023, with an effective date of October 1, 2023.
This policy aimed to compensate Zimbabweans who suffered significant losses during the pre-2009 era due to hyperinflation and currency devaluation following the switch to a multicurrency regime in 2009.
In a statement released on Friday, IPEC revealed that they received and assessed 1 249 complete submissions out of the expected 1,395 applications for pre-2009 compensation schemes.
“The remaining 146 schemes were either incomplete or not submitted at all. Regulatory actions are being taken in accordance with Statutory Instrument 162 of 2023,” the statement said.
Crucially, “none of the 1,249 assessed compensation schemes were approved due to non-compliance with the provisions of Statutory Instrument 162 of 2023.”
IPEC confirmed that “the originally planned commencement of payments in March 2024 will not be possible” due to the lack of approved applications.
However, some of the assessed schemes are close to meeting the compliance requirements. Payments for these schemes can potentially begin once they receive IPEC approval.
“IPEC is actively working with each pension fund and administrator to ensure compliance within legal boundaries,” the statement added.
In 2015, a Commission of Inquiry was constituted in 2015 by then President, the now late Robert Mugabe, to investigate the causes and extent of loss of value of life insurance policies and pensions suffered by policyholders and pension scheme members following the conversion of the Zimbabwe dollar.
The Justice George Smith-led Commission of Inquiry found some policyholders and pension scheme members were prejudiced during the conversion process and recommended they be compensated.
