Oxford Policy Management (OPM) was contracted by FinMark Trust and its partners (the
Department of Social Development and the International Social Security Association) to
undertake an evaluation of retirement systems of the 15 countries within the Southern
African Development Community (SADC). In accordance with the terms of reference, we
have set out to develop ‘a comprehensive review of the retirement systems and informal
mechanisms of all SADC countries’ and, in doing so, have focused on ‘describing the
retirement systems of each country with a view to understanding the effectiveness and
coverage in different systems and the importance of informal approaches to long-term
provision’.
The overall aims of the study were to compile and systematise the information available on
retirement systems in the region, including informal mechanisms and mechanisms used by
informal sector workers. This intention has been to provide comparative information that can
be set against the more extensive information that is available for corresponding systems in
other parts of the world, and form the basis for further development of retirement systems in
these countries.