CHAMWE KAIRA
Pension fund PPS South Africa has said its members in Namibia should again be pleased with the profits that were generated for them.
This year, the company allocated a record-high N5.59 billion in profit share to South African and Namibian members with qualifying life-risk products to their notional PPS profit-share accounts.
This amount follows the previous record-high allocation of N5.46 billion in 2021. Additionally, the annual gross benefits paid were N$5.95 billion (2023: N$6.12 billion; due to lower exit claims payment).
Together, these amounts totalled N$11.54 billion in 2024, compared to N$10.70 billion in 2023.
“From a membership perspective, members with PPS life risk products in South Africa and Namibia increased from 132 934 at the end of 2023 to 135 084 at the end of 2024. Members with a product across the group (including Namibia) increased from 161 056 at the end of 2023 to 164 891 at the end of 2024,” said Izak Smit, PPS South Africa Group chief executive officer, in the 2024 integrated report.
He said growth in PPS Investments remains exceptional, with almost N$10 billion of gross inflows in 2024 and total assets under management that increased to N$96.52 billion (2023: N$84 billion).
Profit before investment income and tax increased to N$162.1 million from N$153.5 million in 2023.
“PPS Investments is now firmly established as a midsize player in the South African asset manager landscape, with growth continuing unabated. Even more pleasing than the growth in overall assets was the performance of the individual funds in which our members invested,” said Smit.
From a membership perspective, members with PPS life risk products in South Africa and Namibia increased from 132 934 at the end of 2023 to 135 084 at the end of 2024.
Members with a product across the group (including Namibia) increased from 161 056 at the end of 2023 to 164 891 at the end of 2024.
“Many of our graduate professional members continued to feel financial pressure during the year due to constrained economic conditions. Encouragingly, lapse rates improved, decreasing from 4.70% in 2023 to 4.42% in 2024. These rates remain exceptionally low by industry standards, and our strong member retention continues to be a key driver of the business’s profitability,” said Smit.
PPS said it’s optimistic about its prospects in 2025, although it anticipates that economic growth will remain constrained.
“While emigration continues to impact the graduate market, this is likely to be offset by the group’s focus on new markets and territories, where uptake of our life-risk solutions is likely to be good,” said Smith.
