Sound pension systems provide a financial and social safety net for the elderly and an essential source of long-term capital for investment. Where pensions systems exist across most of Africa, they do so against a backdrop of elevated levels of informality in labour markets. The result is that the pension contributions outside of the public sector are intermittent and relatively low.

There is growing awareness to relook pension policy and its relevance in Africa. Since informality is structural to most African economies, economic structures will take time to realign. The immediate imperative of financial inclusion simply cannot wait for such realignment. There is an urgent need to innovate around formal and informal savings to accelerate the known positive impact that domestic savings can have on African economic growth.

Age composition shifts are inevitable, making it an urgent imperative to improve African retirement systems now to take care of the elderly in the future. Mobile technology, innovation, early adoption and a youthful and economically active population provide a fertile environment to reshape African retirement systems to enable them to be more effective in providing financial security in the future.