This summary was compiled by Sabine Halberstadt, legal consultant.

New Regulations 1, 26, 27, 28 and 29 under the Pension Funds Act were published in Gazette number 5205 on 6 September 2013. As the result of a number of ambiguities presented by this gazette, it was withdrawn and replaced by Gazette number 5383 Gazette effective 1 January 2014. Note that this gazette contains a regulation issued under the Long-term Insurance Act that is the equivalent to Regulation 28.

Regulation 1, introducing certain new definitions, remains unchanged.

Regulation 26, dealing with administrative penalties, remains unchanged.

Regulation 27, dealing with the interest to be charged on direct housing loans, remains unchanged but the effective date is moved from 1 September 2013 to 1 January 2014.

The changes affected to Regulation 28 are set out hereunder:

• (1) The following definitions were changed:
  • 1.1 "banking institution", which now also includes banking institutions authorized as such under the laws of a country other than Namibia,
  • 1.2 "building society" which also now includes building societies authorized as such under the laws of a country other than Namibia and
  • 1.3 "Post Office Savings Bank" which now also includes a savings bank or similar institution authorized as such under the laws of a country other than Namibia.
• (2) Sections (3) (a)(i) to (v) set out a regressive scale of dual listed companies deemed to be domestic assets, which are required to be a minimum of 35% of market value of a fund's total assets.>
• This changed as follows:
  • (i) 30 per cent of the market value of its total assets from 1 January 2014 (previously 1 April 2013)
  • <(ii) 25 per cent of the market value of its total assets from 1 January 2015 ( previously 1 April 2014)
  • (iii) 20 per cent of the market value of its total assets from 1 January 2016 (previously 1 April 2015)
  • (iv) 15 per cent of the market value of its total assets from 1 January  2017 (previously 1 April 2016)
  • (v) 10 per cent of the market value of its total assets from 1 January  2018 (previously 1 April 2017)
• (3) Section (1) (4), deals with the minimum investment in unlisted investments. This changed as follows:
  • The effective date for achieving a minimum of 1.75% investment in unlisted investments has been moved to 31 December 2014 as the result of the date of publication having been move on to 31 December 2013.
• (4) Section (5) deals with reporting on a fund's investment holdings.
  • This has been changed from .... "within 90 days..." to " within 90 days or a shorter period determined by the Registrar by written notice, after the end of each calendar quarter, submit to the Registrar a statement of investment holdings in such form as the Registrar may determine."
• The Prescribed interest rate for housing loans (Regulation 27) has remained unchanged as per previous GG: repo rate +4% per annum with effect of date of publication of 1 January 2014 (previously 1 September 2013).