MUSASIZI TASKS URBRA ON EFFECTIVE REGULATION OF PUBLIC SERVICE PENSION SCHEME

PML DAILY

Finance Minister Henry Musasizi has tasked the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) to ensure the successful implementation and effective regulation of the new Public Service Pension Scheme, saying it will be key in strengthening the country’s retirement benefits sector and supporting long-term economic transformation.

Musasizi said Uganda’s retirement benefits industry has grown into an important pillar of the economy, with total sector assets now standing at approximately Shs36 trillion.

He urged URBRA to ensure the funds are prudently managed and invested in productive sectors that can accelerate national development.

The minister said the pension sector should increasingly work with government to channel what he described as “patient capital” into strategic investments that support the implementation of Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy, which seeks to expand the economy through increased domestic production, industrialisation and private sector development.

“The savings accumulated by workers should be well managed and strategically deployed into productive sectors of the economy to support sustainable economic growth while safeguarding the interests of contributors,” Musasizi said.

Musasizi also called on URBRA to intensify stakeholder engagement and public awareness campaigns to encourage more Ugandans to embrace voluntary retirement savings, noting that increased domestic savings are critical for enhancing financial security and mobilising long-term investment capital.

He made the remarks during a meeting with the URBRA Board and Management at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development headquarters in Kampala.

The URBRA delegation was led by Board Chairman Henry Balwanyi Magino and Chief Executive Officer Martin Anthony Nsubuga, who briefed the minister on the Authority’s strategic priorities and ongoing initiatives to strengthen the retirement benefits industry.

During the meeting, Balwanyi unveiled URBRA’s new Strategic Plan (2025/26–2029/30) under the theme: “Harnessing Retirement Savings for Sustainable Socio-economic Transformation.”

He said the plan is aimed at positioning retirement savings as a major driver of Uganda’s economic development through increased savings mobilisation, improved pension governance and investments that create jobs and promote inclusive growth.

Balwanyi noted that achieving the objectives of the Tenfold Growth Strategy will require a substantial increase in domestic savings, with retirement benefits expected to play a central role in financing long-term investments.

“Every shilling saved for retirement is not only securing the future of a Ugandan worker—it is also building the capital that finances Uganda’s future,” Balwanyi said.

He added that a stronger pensions industry would contribute to deeper capital markets, increased investment, expanded employment opportunities and faster progress towards Uganda’s long-term economic transformation agenda.

The meeting reaffirmed government’s commitment to strengthening the retirement benefits sector through sound regulation, improved governance and policies that protect contributors while ensuring pension savings contribute to sustainable socio-economic development.