Finance Minister Matia Kasaija has said the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) 2025-30 Strategic Plan is critical in expanding retirement savings and strengthening social security, at a time when 85 percent of Ugandans are not saving for old age.
Citing a previous URBRA report, Mr Kasaija noted that low sector coverage remains a major challenge, largely because the current retirement benefits system excludes most informal sector workers.
‘The URBRA Strategic Plan sets forth a clear path to enhance the efficiency, governance, and growth of the retirement benefits sector to provide social security in old age,’ he said, explaining that the plan seeks to increase domestic savings to 35 percent of GDP by 2040, primarily by promoting good governance and stability within the retirement benefits sector.
Mr Kasaija noted that this goal aligns with government’s broader objective of raising household incomes, expanding employment, and achieving sustainable socio-economic transformation, which he said, when effectively harnessed, retirement benefits savings can play a transformative role in the economy.
‘Higher savings lead to higher investment, which in turn boosts economic development and prosperity for our citizens,’ he said.
A previous URBRA report indicates that while the constitution guarantees all citizens access to pension and retirement benefits under the National Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, structural limitations have left the majority of workers uncovered.
Government is now considering reforms aimed at making the sector more inclusive, particularly for informal sector workers, as part of efforts to reduce old-age poverty and improve social welfare.
URBRA acting chief executive officer Rita Nansasi said the Authority has drawn key lessons from the outgoing 2020-25 Strategic Plan, including the use of the Electronic Risk-Based Supervision System to identify and manage sector risks.
Over the next five years, she said, URBRA will focus on strengthening stability, security, and governance, while enforcing prudential standards to ensure better outcomes for members.
The Strategic Plan is aligned with National Development Plan IV and recognises the central role of retirement savings in Uganda’s long-term socio-economic transformation.