FIMA commencement and the FIMA regulations notices, effective 1 May 2026, were given in Gazette No 8900. With the implementation of the FIMA, all knowledge and expertise acquired and developed over the past 70 years in the Namibian retirement funds industry has gone down the drain! Namibia can no longer rely on SA legal precedent for guidance on technical issues. All disputes will, from now on, have to be settled by Namibian courts, and it will take more than 70 years for the retirement funds industry to reach the same level of maturity and certainty that existed until 30 April 2026! Having been involved in the drafting process for 30 years, I had to resign to the unfortunate fact that hardly any of the stakeholders’ concerns relating to the principles of this new omnibus law have been acknowledged in the FIMA’s final form.
NAMFISA issued a public notice on 8 May, announcing the operationalisation of the NAMFISA Act and the FIMA together with the Standards and Regulations made thereunder, effective 1 May 2026. The NAMFISA Act, FIM Act and Standards, as issued in the Gazettes, can be found under the tab titled ‘FIMA Related’.
- FIMA regulations were issued in Gazette No 8901, including those relating to retirement funds (regulations 1, 19 – 36).
- FIMA standards were issued in Gazettes, including those applicable to Chapter 8 Fund administrators (Gazette No 8902), Chapter 10 General (Gazette No 8903), and Chapter 5 Retirement funds (Gazette No 8909).
Importantly, several pre-FIMA regulations, declarations, directives and circulars remain applicable and have now become law. It is left to those responsible for implementing and complying with the law to ensure they know which declarations, directives and circulars those are. Considering that NAMFISA has issued numerous documents over the years, many of a general nature, it will not be an easy task, fraught with risk and open to interpretation. The long journey into uncharted territory has begun, and there will undoubtedly be many painful lessons over many years to come!
These pre-FIMA regulations, declarations, directives and circulars will apply until superseded by a ‘subordinate measure’ made under the FIMA, referred to below as ‘grandfathering’.
The table below is an extract from the NAMFISA notice, relevant to the retirement funds industry.
These pre-FIMA regulations, declarations, directives and circulars will apply until superseded by a ‘subordinate measure’ made under the FIMA, referred to below as ‘grandfathering’.
The table below is an extract from the NAMFISA notice, relevant to the retirement funds industry.
| GRANDFATHERING OF SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION | ||
| GENERAL | ||
| Definitions referencing a Standard or Regulation or requiring the constitution of a body; | ||
| 1.1 Schedule 3 of the FIM Act under section 467 provides for transitional provisions as follows: General preservation of subordinate measures and other actions “2. (1) Any subordinate legislation or measure made under a repealed law remains in force unless in conflict with this Act and is deemed to be made thereunder until superseded by a subordinate measure made under this Act.” (2) The rules of a financial institution made under a repealed law and in force immediately before the effective date continue to be in force so far as they are not inconsistent with this Act, except that the financial institution must, within six months from the effective date, amend or replace its rules to comply with the requirements of this Act. |
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| 1.2 The following Regulations, rules, and other subordinate measures that have not been addressed under the FIM Act and its Standards or Regulations issued thereunder have been identified for purposes of the grandfathering exercise. These include the Long-term Insurance Regulations, Short-term Insurance Regulations, Medical Aid Fund Regulations, and Pension Fund Regulations, as well as the Rules of the Namibia Stock Exchange (NSX) and Listing Requirements, the Trust Deeds and Supplemental Deeds establishing Unit Trust Schemes, and the rules under the Capital Markets. No regulations or rules have been identified for grandfathering under the General Chapter of the FIM Act. | ||
| RETIREMENT FUND (RF) - REGULATIONS | Provision in the FIM Bill (Chapter 4) Collective Investment Schemes | Degree of Gravity |
| SUBJECT | REGULATION | TO BE GRANDFATHERED |
| Assets in which a registered fund may invest | 12 to 13 (Part 7) | YES |
| Investment of pension fund assets in unlisted investments | 14 to 40 (Part 8) | YES |
| Administrative penalties | 42 | YES |
| FINANCIAL MARKETS (FM) & COLLECTIVE INVESTMENT SCHEMES (CIS) - REGULATIONS | ||
| SUBJECT | REGULATION | TO BE GRANDFATHERED |
| Financial Markets | Rules of the NSX and Listing Requirements | YES |
| Unit Trust Schemes (Entities under Ch4 of FIMA) | Existing Trust Deeds and Supplemental Deeds establishing Unit Trust Schemes | YES |
| DECLARATIONS OF UNDESIRABLE PRACTICES | ||
| SUBJECT | REGULATION | TO BE GRANDFATHERED |
| Curtailment of Benefits | N/A | YES |
| Advertising | N/A | YES |
| Discounts | N/A | YES |
| Restrictions and Exclusions relating to third-party claims | N/A | YES |
| DIRECTIVES/CIRCULARS | ||
| SUBJECT | REGULATION | TO BE GRANDFATHERED |
| All Directives and Circulars issued to date | N/A | YES |