The latest data from the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF) as of March 1, 2024, sheds light on the pension savings of Kazakhstani citizens and the sources contributing to their growth.
As of March 1, 2024, pension savings totaling 18.5 trillion tenge have been accumulated on the individual and conditional accounts of contributors (recipients) of the UAPF. This marks a growth of over 641 billion tenge (3.6%) since the beginning of the year. In comparison to the same date last year, pension savings have increased by almost 3.4 trillion tenge, or 22.3%.
The breakdown of pension contributions for the first two months of 2024 reveals that mandatory pension contributions (MPC) saw a significant increase. Contributions for the year amounted to 414.9 billion tenge, showing a 29.8% growth compared to the previous year. Mandatory pension contributions (MPC) increased by 23.8%, mandatory professional pension contributions (MPPC) by 22.9%, and voluntary pension contributions (VPC) by 66.8%.
The UAPF report indicates that 97% of Kazakhstani citizens' savings are attributed to MPC, which reached approximately 17.9 trillion tenge as of March 1, 2024, marking a 22% annual growth and a 3.5% increase since the beginning of the year. Savings from MPPC amounted to 589.9 billion tenge, showing a 26.5% annual increase and a 3.8% growth since the start of the current year. The most significant growth was seen in VPC, with a 49.9% increase for the year and 8% since the beginning of the year, totaling 5.7 billion tenge.
Furthermore, additional funds in the form of mandatory employer pension contributions (MEPC) started flowing into contributors' pension accounts as of January 1, 2024, with contributions totaling over 19.2 billion tenge for the first two months of 2024.
The net investment income accrued on individual and conditional pension accounts of UAPF contributors amounted to approximately 343.6 billion tenge since the beginning of the year. Outflows in the form of pension payments from the UAPF reached around 130.8 billion tenge by March 1, 2024. Notably, a significant portion of these payments included one-time pension payments (OTPP) for housing improvements and medical treatment, totaling over 57.4 billion tenge, a 2.6-fold increase compared to the previous year. Payments related to reaching the retirement age amounted to over 31.1 billion tenge.
The UAPF press release also highlighted payments made for inheritance (9.2 billion tenge), emigration outside of Kazakhstan (5.6 billion tenge), disability benefits (558 million tenge), funeral expenses (1.8 billion tenge), and transfers to insurance organizations (approximately 25.2 billion tenge).
The average monthly pension payment scheduled by the UAPF upon reaching the retirement age was 34,075 tenge, with the maximum monthly payment reaching 945,752 tenge. Comparatively, the average monthly payment last year was 32,065 tenge, with a maximum of 742,692 tenge.
The UAPF specified that as of March 1, 2024, there were 12.4 million individual pension accounts (IPA) in the UAPF, with the majority (11.1 million) linked to MPC, followed by 659.4 thousand for MPPC, and 407.2 thousand for VPC. Additionally, there were over 3.05 million conditional pension accounts (CPA) in the UAPF, which track MEPC and other inflows in accordance with Kazakhstan's legislation.
As of February 1, 2024, Kazakhstani citizens' pension savings exceeded 18.1 trillion tenge, reflecting a positive trend in pension fund growth and contributions.
