Arab Pensions & Social Insurance Conference 2021

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Arab Pensions & Social Insurance Conference 2021

Description

The Arab Pensions Conference is an annual event that aspires to spread the word about the importance of pension planning. Hosted by Fintech Robos in the heart of the Arabian Gulf- Bahrain, it has adapted into a free virtual event that can be attended across the globe.

Objective

In the MENA region, many people rely on the government or their families to fund their retirement. While, a huge pension gap exists for expat workers and informal sector employees, although they make up most of the population. The Arab Pensions Conference aims to shed light on these growing issues in the economy, demographics, pension systems, and cultural mindset. The world is changing, and it is time to take initiative and start planning for your pension in an informed way.

Who can join?

This event is for anyone who is unsure about their retirement. Whether they don’t have a plan or their plan hinges on just one egg in their basket. This conference is most relevant for the young workforce, those who may think they are too young to start thinking about retirement. They are the ideal group to affect change, with time to learn and make positive changes towards their future. Whether you are part of a government agency, an asset manager, an investment advisor, or just someone who wants to learn about pensions, this event is for you.

What to expect?

The Arab Pensions Conference 2021 will be held online with a virtual event platform that is ideal for networking. Attendees will login and enter the event to find a stage where the sessions will be held, a networking section for automated meetings, and a replay section to watch sessions immediately after they are finished.

Theme

What should MENA Pension Systems look like for the next 50 years?

It has been around 50 years since social insurance and pension systems were first introduced into the various countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The region has thrived in the first 50 years of pensions, which we can now dub “the golden years of pensions”. This was possible despite the unexpected volatile economic and labor-market conditions, and the limited single-pillar structure of social insurance through Defined Benefit (DB) pension that exists till this day. In the GCC, a strong oil-economy and a fund lifecycle where asset accumulation grew much faster than the number of retiring workers in the first 40 years, kept pension funds highly solvent and fully able to keep their promises to retirees with a golden handshake.
With aging populations challenging the very model upon which pensions have been built, with the majority of populations in several MENA countries working in informal sector, with millions of youths being nudged to work in the new gig-economy, with more than half of the workforce in the GCC being expat workers, and with most regional pension funds running chronic actuarial deficits, how should we design the MENA pensions systems for the next 50 years? How do we want our children and their children to retire one or two generations from today?